Plea for council to keep scrutiny powers as part of NHS overhaul

THE GOVERNMENT’S proposals to overhaul the NHS have been broadly welcomed by an influential council watchdog, despite concerns the reforms could hamper its ability to intervene in health service changes.

North Yorkshire County Council’s Scrutiny of Health Committee is to due to examine the Health and Social Care Bill White Paper in detail in the summer.

Its chairman, Councillor John

Ennis, said there was “no suggestion whatsoever about councils’ scrutiny function being curtailed”.

But he added that if the committee’s abilities were threatened, the council would “fight like cats in a sack” to keep them.

The White Paper sets out the case for a new legislative framework to enable greater collaboration within the NHS and between the NHS, local government and other partners, and to support the recovery from the pandemic.

The county’s scrutiny committee used its power to refer major

NHS service changes to the Secretary of State in 2012, following widespread anger over South Tees NHS Trust’s plans to scale back maternity and child services at the Friarage Hospital, in Northallerton. North Yorkshire councillors say such powers are a vital democratic balance on NHS managers’ schemes.

Coun Ennis said: “There is some sense that the Government is wanting to exercise more direction over the NHS.

“I think what’s happening here is more to do with a redistribution of authority between a Secretary

of State and NHS England. I don’t see the right of local authorities to make representations to the Secretary of State being curtailed.”

The White Paper also proposes a duty to collaborate across the

NHS and local government, rather than simply cooperate.

Coun Ennis claimed that the North Yorkshire authority was “ahead of the pack” in working closely with the NHS, with teamwork between the organisations thoroughly tested during the coronavirus pandemic as patients were rapidly discharged from hospital.

He said the White Paper, which outlines plans for future legislation, recognised the collaboration already happening between public health in local government and the NHS and provided an opportunity to strengthen the relationships. The Local Government Association has said it would seek assurances from the Department for Health and Social Care that the existing powers and duties of local government to make the NHS accountable were not undermined or bypassed by the changes.

Referring to proposals to enable the Secretary of State to intervene in NHS reconfigurations, the association said it was “imperative that local government remains directly accountable to our residents”.

I don’t see right of local authorities being curtailed. John Ennis, chairman of North Yorkshire Council’s Scrutiny of Health Committee.