Greater London Authority Act 1999 (Amendment) Order 2012

Earl Howe Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd May 2012 Grand Committee

Moved By

[Earl Howe]

That the Grand Committee do report to the House that it has considered the Greater London Authority Act 1999 (Amendment) Order 2012.

Relevant document: 44th Report from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe)]

My Lords, the order before the Committee gives the Greater London Authority the ability to spend money on activities that protect or promote improvements in public health in London.

The Health and Social Care Act 2012 confers important new public health duties on upper-tier and unitary local authorities in England. They include London borough councils and the City of London but not the GLA. From April 2013, those authorities must take appropriate steps to improve the health of their populations. The Act also confers on the Secretary of State for Health the new duty of taking steps to protect public health, and allows him to delegate his functions to local authorities either by prescribing them in regulations or by entering into other arrangements. Local authorities will be supported in their duties by a new grant, based on the current NHS spend on the equivalent activity, ring-fenced exclusively for public health. They will employ directors of public health and other specialist staff who will act as local champions for health improvement both within their authorities and beyond.

It is fair to say that the Act’s provisions pave the way for the most fundamental reform of public health services for some decades. They were broadly welcomed by both local government and the public health community. There is widespread recognition that in many ways local authorities are the natural home for action on public health, given their closeness to their local communities, their direct democratic accountability and the responsibility they share already for a wide range of services that have an impact on health, such as social care, leisure and education among many others.

The public health challenges in Greater London are exceptional. London has a complex population that is ethnically diverse, relatively young, mobile and transient, with pockets of high levels of poverty, crime and social exclusion cheek by jowl with great wealth. London rates below the national average on 18 key health indicators, including mental illness and deaths from heart attacks and strokes, while childhood immunisation rates are lower than in other large cities.

Individually, the 33 boroughs are ready and able to address these challenges. There is, however, currently no agency with the power to plan and act across borough boundaries, and to take an overview of what can be done most effectively and efficiently for London as a whole. We believe that such an agency would have considerable potential. For example, it could be asked to commission pan-London services for smaller minority groups which may otherwise be at risk of slipping beneath the radar in some boroughs. We have consulted organisations representing minority groups in London, which agree that this would be a significant benefit.

A cross-London agency could reduce administrative costs and obtain economies of scale, freeing up more resources for public health services. If, for example, the boroughs agreed that it would be appropriate for them to run cancer awareness campaigns, it would be far more effective, and less costly, to commission one campaign for London than 33 separate campaigns each confined to a single borough.

The Government propose to fill this gap. In the gracious Speech on 9 May, Her Majesty announced that we will publish a draft Bill to modernise adult care and support in England. Subject to parliamentary approval, we also intend to use this Bill to require the Greater London Authority to establish a London health improvement board, bringing together the GLA, the mayor and the boroughs to produce and implement an annual plan for public health in London, funded by the boroughs from their ring-fenced grants.

I am delighted to say that the idea for this proposal came from the boroughs and the GLA themselves, in response to an invitation from the Secretary of State, which I think sends us a very positive message about their commitment and enthusiasm. In fact, the board is already up and running, albeit in a limited and non-statutory way.

This brings us directly to the matter of today’s debate. The boroughs will acquire new duties and the related funding from April 2013. The NHS in London is keen to work with the London health improvement board on public health right now. However, it will not be possible to establish the board on a statutory basis before 2014 at the earliest.

Eager as the Board is to make its full contribution as soon as possible, it faces one particularly severe constraint during this intervening period. The GLA is currently prevented by Section 31(3)(d) of the Greater London Authority Act 1999 from spending money on providing any health services that can be provided by a local authority or other public body, such as a primary care trust.

This means that even if funds are contributed voluntarily by the boroughs or the NHS, the GLA and therefore the board cannot currently use them to commission public health services or campaigns. It is easy to understand the rationale for that constraint—it is the need to prevent wasteful duplication of activity. We have no intention, either now or in the future, of giving the GLA a standing statutory duty for public health that would overlap with the duties that the boroughs have for their populations.

The objective we want to achieve now, ahead of more comprehensive primary legislation, is simply to allow London boroughs to work in partnership with the board from the outset as one way of effectively fulfilling their duties. This order removes the obstacle that the 1999 Act presents. It is made under Section 31(9) of that Act, which provides that the Secretary of State may make an order to remove or restrict any prohibitions or limitations imposed by Section 31.

The order inserts a new Section 31(5A) into the Act, which from July will allow the GLA to spend money on providing services or facilities that protect or promote improvements in public health. This new power will be exercised consistently with the GLA’s principal purposes as set out in Section 30(2) of the Act.

With this new power, the GLA will also be able to spend funds on public health activities that it raises from external sponsors other than the borough councils and, until April 2013, allow it to work with primary care trusts and the strategic health authority in London if they commission the GLA to deliver public health services on their behalf.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath]

My Lords, I thank the noble Earl, Lord Howe, for explaining the intention of the order to the Committee. I declare an interest as chairman of an NHS foundation trust and as a consultant and trainer in NHS and health issues. As the noble Earl explained, this will enable the GLA to spend money on improving or protecting public health in Greater London. It has a specific relevance to the London Health Improvement Board, and is consistent with the enhanced role to be given to local authorities in the rest of England and in the London boroughs. We believe that local authorities can make a major contribution to public health and support the general thrust of the order.

The case the noble Earl put forward for a pan-London approach to public health is persuasive. My understanding is that—as he said—it will tackle the major health problems in the capital, including cancer, childhood obesity and alcohol abuse. I particularly note the comments of Dr Simon Tanner, NHS London regional director of public health, who explained that:

“Health issues in London are both complicated and specific to the city. The capital’s biggest health problems such as obesity, cancer and alcohol abuse are often interrelated and cannot be tackled in isolation”.

On behalf of the NHS, he said,

“we want to draw on the diverse skills and experience we have to tackle these areas through the London Health Improvement Board”.

This clearly receives support from the NHS, as well as the London boroughs and the GLA.

I listened carefully to the noble Earl’s explanation of the relationship between the London boroughs, the GLA and the improvement board. He was careful to make clear that the London boroughs are the principal public health bodies for London. In essence, the LHIB will depend on the support of the London boroughs to be able to take the necessary action. I entirely understand that, but I will ask the Minister a question. He mentioned the issue of campaigns. He said that it would be much better to co-ordinate a public health campaign across London, and that the board could have an important role to play, which is self-evident. However, I imagine that it would depend on all the London boroughs signing up to a particular programme and committing a budget to it.

What will happen if the board is not able to get all the London boroughs to join a campaign? When statutory legislation is brought to Parliament, will it enable the board to take account of that in some way? Presumably, one would not want one borough to be able to veto an action that all the others had agreed to. I would be grateful if the noble Earl would also indicate when he thinks legislation will be brought forward to put the board on a statutory basis. I do not know whether it will be primary or secondary legislation. It would be helpful if he could explain that, too.

My final question is slightly outwith the issue, but I hope that the noble Earl will not mind me asking it. We are all agreed that local authorities, whether inside or outside London, should have a stronger role in public health. The appointment of a director of public health by first-tier local authorities, and the establishment of public health departments in those local authorities, is clearly very important. Noble Lords will be aware that there has been concern in the public health community about the extent to which the ring-fencing of budgets will actually hold. If the noble Earl is not able to explain this, perhaps he might write to me in due course.

I am also picking up some concerns that local authorities are being less than sensitive to the debates that we had on the Health and Social Care Bill about the status of the director of public health and the right of direct access to the local authority chief executive. I realise that local government structures have changed since 1974 and that direct access for the DPH could present some problems to local authorities, but it is widely accepted within government that the Chief Medical Officer must have direct access to the Prime Minister and senior Ministers—for obvious reasons in view of the importance of that office. Surely the same applies at local level.

There are some signs that local authorities have not taken that message on board. It would be a great pity if local authorities, almost at the starting gate of assuming greater responsibility, did not recognise the need to ensure that public health has a very strong voice at the top table. Frankly, local authorities are on trial. There is no guarantee that the arrangement will stay for ever if they are not able to accept the responsibility that is placed on them. I realise that this matter goes slightly wider than the order, but any words of comfort would be much appreciated.

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, I am very grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, for his support for the order. He asked me a number of questions. First, he asked whether, if the London borough councils cannot unanimously agree on a plan, that would affect their ability to commission services from the GLA or through the board. The board can and will be able to deal with the boroughs individually if necessary. The draft Bill that we are bringing forward will make clear in primary legislation how the board will agree plans on a statutory basis. For example, if a group of boroughs wished to get together, excluding other boroughs, there is no reason why they should not do so and commission the GLA to deliver services solely on their behalf.

As I said, the establishment of the board as an NDPB will require primary legislation. Unfortunately, I cannot tell the noble Lord when that will be brought forward, but the draft legislation will be published soon. We published baseline allocations based on the NHS spend for public health, and our intention is to move gradually to a more needs-based formula over a period of years. To move more suddenly would prove destabilising, as I am sure the noble Lord appreciates. That addresses his point about the ring-fencing of budgets, and whether they will hold. I was not aware of concern about that. Of course, some boroughs wish that they had more money than they do, but it is necessary to start from a logical place, and we believe that the baseline allocations reflect current reality.

I was concerned to hear what the noble Lord said about the status of directors of public health and the extent to which they will or will not have access to their respective chief operating officers within a local authority. I will take that concern away with me, and I am grateful to him for flagging it up. If there is anything I can say to him in writing, I will be very happy to do so.

Motion agreed.