New consultation on health scrutiny launched

The Department of Health has launched a consultation to gather opinions on new plans to reform health scrutiny arrangements affecting local councils.

Unveiled by health minister Lord Howe, the suggestions include a possible requirement for local authorities and the NHS to publish clear timescales for making a decision on whether a proposal should be referred, as well as a new intermediate referral stage to the NHS Commissioning Board for certain service reconfigurations.

The consultation will also consider whether local authorities should take account of the financial sustainability of services when considering a referral and whether health scrutiny processes need to obtain the agreement of the full council before a referral can be made.

Lord Howe said: "Our Health and Social Care Act aims to ensure we have a modern health service that works around patients and meets the healthcare needs of the local population."

According to figures released by the government earlier this month, spending on frontline NHS services has increased by 3.4 billion pounds in cash terms in 2012 compared to last year.