Analysis: Power grab casts a shadow over Hancock’s push for integration
The health white paper’s focus on population health is welcome – but could be undermined by the lack of trust in the health secretary as he seeks more power for himself
It was Sir David Nicholson, then NHS chief executive, who described the coalition government’s health service reorganisation as being so big it could be seen from space. Certainly, no one is saying anything similar of the government’s current NHS reforms – but this does not mean they are uncontentious.
The landscape they will build upon was reshaped by then health secretary Andrew Lansley’s Health & Social Care Act 2012 which put an emphasis on competition within the health service, with clinical commissioning groups replacing primary care trusts and taking the lead in determining local services. The idea was that they would be led by GPs, whose vantage point meant they had optimum knowledge to choose the best for their patients,
Diamond Logistics wins Crown Commercial Service supplier status shdlogistics.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from shdlogistics.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The government needs to demonstrate it has a strategy for local government beyond the sector’s mere “survival”, a leading National Audit Office figure has told LGC.
Aileen Murphie, who stepped down as the NAO’s director covering local government at the end of last month, spoke to LGC after a report from the watchdog said the sector’s finance after a year of pandemic response was a “cause for concern”.
Ms Murphie predicted cuts may be seen “across the whole gamut” of services in 2021-22, including reductions to social care and special educational needs packages, as well as the closure or reduced opening times of libraries, leisure centres and tourist attractions.
TOP NEWS SUMMARY: UK regulator approves Virgin-O2 mobile phone merger
Wed, 14th Apr 2021 11:20
(Alliance News) - The following is a summary of top news stories Wednesday.
COMPANIES
The UK Competition & Markets Authority said it has provisionally cleared the proposed merger of Virgin Media and Virgin Mobile with O2. O2 is a cellular network operator and the commercial brand of Telefonica UK, which is part of the telecommunications company Telefonica. Virgin Media, meanwhile, is a subsidiary of Liberty Global, a television & telecommunications company. Liberty Global and Telefonica announced the tie-up last May, which is expected to create GBP11 billion in revenue. Back in December 2020, an in-depth investigation into the GBP31 billion mega-merger was launched by the competition watchdog. The CMA previously had blocked a merger between O2 and rival network Three, although it had approved BT s deal with EE.
Media owners rush to mute selected ads after death of Prince Philip
Government’s coronavirus information push among campaigns affected.
by Daniel Farey-Jones and Fayola Douglas
Prince Philip, who was 99 years old (picture credit: Samir Hussein/Getty Images)
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