Role of English local authorities in health issues: submissions invited

• Communites and Local Government Committee

From 1 April 2013 top tier local authorities will assume responsibilities for public health, and Health and Wellbeing Boards will be established as statutory committees responsible for encouraging integrated working and joint strategies on health and wellbeing.
 
The Committee invites submissions from interested parties on the future role of English local authorities in health issues. To assist those submitting memoranda the Committee suggests they may cover the following areas:

• the introduction of a public health role for councils;
• the adequacy of preparations for the new arrangements;
• the objectives of the new arrangements and how their impact can be measured;
• the intended role of Health and Wellbeing Boards in coordinating the NHS, social care and public health at the local level;
• how all local authorities can promote better public health and ensure better health prevention with the link to sport and fitness, well-being, social care, housing and education;
• barriers to integration, including issues in multi-tier areas;
• how the transfer to local authorities of the front-line health protection role and the creation of Public Health England will affect resilience arrangements at the local level;
• the accountability of Directors of Public Health; and
• the financial arrangements underpinning local authorities’ responsibilities, including the ring-fencing of budgets and how the new regime can link with the operation of Community Budgets.
  

Notes for Editors:

Submissions of no more than 3000 words are invited until 18 October 2012 
Each submission should be labelled with the subject ‘LA health’, sent to clgev@parliament.uk, attached in Word format (with as little use of colour or logos as possible) and be accompanied by a covering email containing the name and contact details of the individual submitting evidence. A detailed guide for written submissions to Select Committees may be found on the parliamentary website at: http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/witnessguide.pdf; it should be noted that written evidence is often published and made available in a report and on the internet.