Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effects of the proposed devolution of health care functions to Metro Mayors and Combined Authorities.

Empowering local areas and communities to have more influence over the delivery of health and care services is a key part of the Government’s ambitions for locally integrated systems of care that lead to improved health and care outcomes, better experience and more efficient use of local resource.

The provisions in the Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill will be exercised through the implementation of bespoke devolution deals, agreed with individual areas and reflecting each area’s proposals and ambitions for devolution. Whatever devolved arrangements are entered into Government is clear that existing accountabilities and national standards for NHS services will still apply in a manner that is consistent and comparable to the rest of the NHS, as set out in the Memorandum of Understanding between Greater Manchester partners and NHS England for example.