Recommendation 8

We are also concerned about the lack of progress on preventing ill-health rather than simply treating it.17 There also do not appear to be effective joint working arrangements between different government departments to tackle the causes of ill-health.18 The Department began a consultation in July 2019, Advancing our health: prevention in the 2020s, seeking views on proposals to tackle the causes of preventable ill-health in England. Despite closing this consultation more than three years ago, in October 2019, the Department is yet to publish a response.19 The consultation included questions where the responses would now be particularly useful for ICSs, such as on how local authorities and NHS bodies can work together, what more government could do to help people live more healthily, and views on the wider government policies that have the biggest impact on peoples’ health and care. We challenged the Department on why it is taking so long to provide a follow-up and highlighted the risk of responses becoming out of date.20 Without sight of the consultation’s findings, it is impossible to evaluate any actions the Department subsequently took, or make a judgement on actions it could have taken but did not.21 The Department told us the response to the consultation constituted a policy document and that its publication was therefore a matter for ministers.22 We also challenged the 10 Q 27, C&AG’s Report, paras 3.12, ICS0012, ICS0019, ICS0023 11 Q 35, ICS0048 12 Q 35, C&AG’s Report, Figure 18 13 Qq 121–122 14 C&AG’s Report, Figure 18 15 Q 113, C&AG’s Report para 2.32, ICS0011, ICS0012, ICS0016, ICS0019, ICS0023 16 Q 113–114 17 Q 118–119 18 Qq 115, C&AG’s Report, paras 3.24–3.27, ICS0012, ICS0019 19 Qq 123–127 20 Qq 123–124 21 Qq 125, 128 22 Qq 123, 129 Introducing Integrated Care Systems 11 Department on the long delay in publishing the results of the review it commissioned almost five years ago into pregnancy loss before 24 weeks. Again, it was unable to provide any info