Source · Select Committees · Health and Social Care Committee
First Report - Prevention in health and social care: healthy places
Health and Social Care Committee
HC 484
Published 19 January 2024
Government response
Fourth Special Report - Prevention in health and social care: Healthy places: Government Response to the Committee’s First Report · published 9 May 2024
Recommendations & Conclusions
10
Recommendation
Rejected
Para 39
Make OHID a statutory consultee for all new large housing developments.
Recommendation
We recommend that OHID be made a statutory consultee for new large housing developments, building on role already accorded to Active Travel England in supporting inclusive, effective and health-protecting development.
Government Response Summary
The government rejects the recommendation to make OHID a statutory consultee for new housing developments, citing concerns about justifying new consultees, slowing down the application process, and value for money, and states it is not currently extending the list of statutory consultees.
Department of Health and Social Care
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11
Conclusion
Rejected
Para 47
GPs lack confidence in social prescribing, leading to underutilisation for underserved groups.
Conclusion
Frontline health and social care staff do not only deal with immediate medical needs. People also present to the health service with issues that relate to unmet social needs, which can in turn, over time, develop into medical needs. Increased …
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Government Response Summary
The government declines the recommendation, stating that national ambitions for the delivery of social prescribing have been set out in the NHS Long Term Plan and that social prescribing has grown significantly across England since 2019, exceeding NHS Long Term Plan commitments.
Department of Health and Social Care
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12
Recommendation
Rejected
Establish national social prescribing strategy to improve practitioner confidence and youth engagement.
Recommendation
We recommend DHSC work with NHS England and existing networks and providers to develop a national strategy for social prescribing. This should aim to improve understanding amongst frontline clinical practitioners of the benefits of social prescribing and to improve their …
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Government Response Summary
The government rejects the recommendation for a new national social prescribing strategy, stating that national ambitions are already set in the NHS Long Term Plan, significant progress has been made, and existing guidance provides strategic direction for its integration into care pathways.
Department of Health and Social Care
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14
Recommendation
Rejected
Para 56
Reconsider mandating public health representatives on Integrated Care Boards to prioritise prevention
Recommendation
We have previously recommended that all ICBs should include a public health representative, such as a public health director, and that DHSC considers making this a mandatory requirement. In response, the Department said it agreed that prevention needs to be …
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Government Response Summary
The government rejects the recommendation to reconsider mandating public health representatives on ICBs, stating it has no plans to alter the Health and Care Act 2022 and emphasizing ICB autonomy and existing duties for local authorities to provide public health advice.
Department of Health and Social Care
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