Public Health White Paper

Simon Danczuk Excerpts

Tuesday 30th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I am grateful for that question. The answer has two parts. First, the general practice-led commissioning consortiums will be members of the new health and well-being boards in local authorities to which I referred. They will participate in the joint strategic needs assessments and strategies through the commissioning framework, the outcomes framework and the quality and outcomes framework, which applies directly to general practice. The less we focus on processes, and the more we focus on outcomes for patients, the more general practice will be focused on preventive solutions, because they will deliver good outcomes at relatively low cost. To that extent, the preventive agenda in general practice and community health services will be incentivised through a focus on outcomes.

[Simon Danczuk (Rochdale) (Lab)]

What proportion of the NHS budget will go to local authorities to provide for public health and how will the funding reflect local health inequalities?

[Mr Lansley]

I must disappoint the hon. Gentleman. We will publish shortly—I hope before Christmas—the consultation on the funding arrangements. We started by establishing the baseline spend for public health, which was never identified under the last Government. It has taken months even to get to the point where we can establish what it looks like—[Interruption.] The hon. Member for Leicester West (Liz Kendall) mentions Julian Le Grand from a sedentary position. He did good work, but it included the whole of maternity services as a public health service. Julian Le Grand and Health England’s work arrived at the figure of £4 billion. In fact, the baseline is in excess of £4 billion, but its composition is completely different. We will set out shortly the structure and proposals for funding local authorities’ public health activity.