What now for deprivations of liberty?
What will the effect of the postponement of the Liberty Protections Safeguards be on local authorities? Local Government Lawyer asked 50 adult social care lawyers for their views on the potential consequences.
SPOTLIGHT |
Local authorities will be “in the driving seat” when it comes to securing improvements in public health, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley claimed today on the publication of the government’s keenly-anticipated White Paper.
Town hall chiefs said the proposals represent a great opportunity for local authorities, but warned that they do not go far enough and there was a risk of a swing towards central control.
Key proposals in Healthy Lives, Healthy People, which was published today and only applies to England, include:
The White Paper said: “There is huge potential to meet people’s needs more effectively and promote the best use of public resources through close working relationships between local authorities and the NHS, to further integrate health with adult social care, children’s services (including education) and wider services, including disability services, housing, and criminal justice agencies. There will be sufficient flexibility in the legislative framework for health and wellbeing boards to go beyond their minimum statutory duties to promote joining-up of a much broader range of local services for the benefit of their local populations’ health and wellbeing.”
The core elements of the new system will be set out in the forthcoming Health and Social Care Bill.
The Department of Health has also published a review of the regulation of public health professionals. It said the government’s preferred approach was to ensure “effective and independently assured voluntary regulation for unregulated public health specialists”. This will be overseen by the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence, as provided for in legislation currently before Parliament.
Lansley said: “Too often in the past, public health budgets have been raided by the NHS to tackle deficits. Not any more. The money will be ringfenced to be used as it should be – for preventing ill health.
“People’s health and wellbeing will be at the heart of everything local councils do. It’s nonsense to think that health can be tackled on its own. Directors of Public Health will be able to champion local cooperation so that health issues are considered alongside housing, transport, and education.”
The Health Secretary argued that people should have services tailored for them, “at the right times in their life from the professionals closest to them”.
He added: “With local authorities in the driving seat, supported by the latest evidence on behaviour change from Public Health England, we will start seeing significant improvements in the nation’s health.”
Responding to the White Paper, Cllr David Rogers, chairman of the Local Government Association’s community wellbeing board, said: “Public health has been the core business of local government since its foundation. Many councils already put a lot of effort, resources and imagination into improving the health and happiness of their communities.
“We believe public health should be at the heart of all we do, so the government’s decision to give town halls a wider role presents us with a great opportunity to build on the good work which already exists across the country.”
He added: “This White Paper states it is time to free up local government and local communities to decide how best to improve the health and wellbeing of their citizens, but it doesn’t go far enough and leaves many questions unanswered. Behind the language of greater freedom lies a swing to central control which risks hampering town hall efforts to boost health.
“With Public Health England employing the majority of the public health workforce, how can we make sure local and national needs work hand in hand? How can we answer to government when the people leading on public health don’t answer to us? Public Health Directors must be accountable to councils.”
Cllr Rogers praised the government for recognising that councils will need more money to perform the extra public health duties contained in the White Paper. However, he added: “Not only should we make sure they're given enough to do the job, they also need the financial freedom to effectively take on the challenges of improving their residents’ health. How the public health ring-fence will work must be made clear.”
The Chief Medical Officer (Interim), Professor Dame Sally Davies, said: “We need a strong and protected public health system to tackle our public health problems, and protect the public. So I welcome this Public Health White Paper which sets out how a new core public health service, Public Health England, will integrate public health expertise, providing national support and advice, for local delivery.
“By joining up the local work done by the NHS, social care, housing, environmental health, transport and leisure services and focusing on public health at a local level, this paper lays out a strategy to improve the health and wellbeing of the nation, and addresses the issues of health inequalities.”
A copy of the White Paper can be downloaded here. The deadline for responses is 8 March 2011.