The bill was introduced its Health Bill the House of Commons on 14 May 2026. The main purpose of the bill would be to abolish NHSE and transfer its functions to either ICBs or the Department of Health and Social Care, including transferring some powers directly to the Secretary of State for Health and Social … Show more
| Title | HC No. | Published | Items | Response |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Report – Health Bill 2026–27 | HC 219 | 12 Jun 2026 | 9 | Pending |
In our Palliative Care report, we urged the government to reconsider its decision to remove local authority representation on ICBs. We remain convinced that removing their representation from ICBs is a damaging move that will undermine the government’s efforts to shift treatment into the community and deliver a more integrated … Read more
We recommend that the statutory requirement for ICBs to have at least one member jointly nominated by local authorities be retained. (Recommendation, Paragraph 8)
We believe that this bill is a missed opportunity for the government to either reform and promote the use of section 75 arrangements, or to provide an alternative mechanism that it believes is more effective in addressing the challenges funding flows present to the integration of health and care service … Read more
We recommend that the Health Bill be amended to require the Secretary of State to review the effective use of Section 75 of the NHS Act 2006, and to produce guidance to support NHS bodies and local authorities making use of section 75 arrangements to pool budgets and jointly commission … Read more
We continue to believe that achieving parity of esteem between physical and mental health requires sustained investment in mental health services and recommend that meeting, rather than just reporting on, the Mental Health Investment Standard should be a statutory requirement on ICBs. (Recommendation, Paragraph 18) Read more
We welcome the duty that the bill places on the Secretary of State to involve the public in the planning of commissioning arrangements. However, it is unclear to us from the language in the bill whether this would go as far as requiring service users to be involved in the … Read more
As the Health Bill makes provision about the duties of integrated care boards (ICBs), it provides an ideal vehicle to provide a level playing field between education bodies and ICBs, so that ICBs are also under a legal obligation to comply with recommendations from SEND Tribunals. (Conclusion, Paragraph 25) Read more
Health inequalities represent a serious and continuing injustice across the country. The almost 20-year gap in healthy life expectancy between different parts of the country is morally unacceptable. While the government has set out the right vision for a cross government mission to tackle health inequalities we do not think … Read more
We recommend that the Secretary of State’s duties in relation to health inequalities in clause 4 of the bill be strengthened and that all ministers should be under a duty to consider how policies they enact might contribute to or reduce health inequalities. (Recommendation, Paragraph 33) 23 Read more
| Date | Witnesses | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Jun 2026 | Cllr Dr Wendy Taylor · Local Government Association, Dr Hugh Alderwick · The Health Foundation, Dr Victoria Tzortziou · Royal College of GPs, Sarah Woolnough · The Kings Fund | View ↗ |
| Witness | Organisation | Sessions |
|---|---|---|
| Cllr Dr Wendy Taylor · Chair, Health and Wellbeing Committee | Local Government Association | 1 |
| Dr Hugh Alderwick · Director of Policy and Research | The Health Foundation | 1 |
| Dr Victoria Tzortziou · Chair | Royal College of GPs | 1 |
| Sarah Woolnough · Chief Executive | The Kings Fund | 1 |