Give health and well-being boards more clout, say social services directors

Directors of social services have "strongly urged" the government to give the proposed health and well-being boards statutory powers to sign off local commissioning plans and to hold commissioners to account.

In a joint response to the government’s Public Health White Paper, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) and the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) said they welcomed an enhanced role for councils in public health.

But they called on ministers to clarify how this proposed greater role would be funded. The two organisations also expressed concern about the structures emerging from the Health and Social Care Bill, with the submission saying it was unclear what the relationship between Public Health England, the NHS Commissioning Boards, Monitor, HealthWatch, the health and wellbeing boards and GP consortia would be.

In addition to seeking statutory powers for health and well-being boards, the submission seeks reassurance that a “potential dilution” of the priority given to vulnerable children, families and adults, and of “further fragmentation” in health services for children and families do not take place.

It said: “We are particularly concerned that there appears to be potentially inadequate representation of the needs of children and young people in the planning and commissioning arrangements in the proposed system.” The response cites the limited reference to the critical role of schools in the public health agenda as a particular concern.

ADASS’ National Lead on Public Health, Sandie Keene, said: “The decision by central government to return public health to local government in which it can be appropriately connected to a wide range of other issues and services is profound, and right. ADASS welcomes this move despite continuing concerns about the structural shape the NHS and local government will take in future. And, of course, important matters concerning the accountability and funding of this important service.”

Ann Baxter, chair of the ADCS Health, Care and Additional Needs Policy Committee, said: “There is a massive potential for local authorities and health partners to have an impact on some of the more intractable public health challenges within these new arrangements, particularly in providing a renewed focus on the health needs of children.

“Local authorities will want to make the most of the new health and wellbeing boards, and we believe that in order to do so, the boards must retain oversight of the commissioning of all health services to ensure coherence and consistency in services for children and young people and their families.”

The joint response can be viewed here.