Health Secretary Wes Streeting confirmed to Parliament that NHS England will no longer exist as a separate organization from the Department of Health and Social Care.
Streeting informed MPs that there are currently 15,300 employees at NHS England and 3,300 at the Department of Health and Social Care.
Streeting stated that his teams were looking to reduce their overall headcount by “50%”, leading to “hundreds and millions of pounds in savings”.
Streeting stated, “Today, we are abolishing the largest quango in the entire world.”
The announcement was the largest step in the ministers’ ambitious reform of the NHS, and a reversal of many reforms introduced under the Conservatives in 2010.
Andrew Lansley, then Health Secretary, established NHS England in 2011 to manage the health service. Lansley oversaw the dismantling of primary care trusts and their replacement with GP-led Clinical Commissioning Groups to organise services locally.
Streeting said that several Conservatives had privately told him they regretted 2012’s reorganisation. He said that “none of them took action”.
Keir starmer, the prime minister of England, said today in a speech on a range of topics that NHS England will be abolished. This is to “cut down bureaucracy”, and return management of health services “under democratic control”.
He said that this would allow the government to improve the NHS and reduce waiting lists before the next election.
Penny Dash, the incoming chair of NHS England, said today that she is “committed” in working with colleagues at NHS England to make sure the organization begins 2025-2026 “in the best possible position to support wider NHS”.
She said that she would lead the efforts “to reduce duplication of functions and bring NHSE and DHSC together.”
Jeremy Hunt, the former Tory health secretary and chancellor, praised the “boldness of the plan” in Parliament. He warned, however, that the plan would be a failure if it merely replaced bureaucratic centralisation with political centralisation.
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