Ministers should be held to account for the integration of health and social care

Editorial: Leaked plans reveal that Matt Hancock, the health secretary, wants to take more power over local health and care services

Matt Hancock, the health secretary, wants more power to shape local health and care services (Getty Images)

The Conservatives have been in power for so long that they have started to dismantle “reforms” that they introduced themselves. A leaked copy of plans for a health and care bill suggests that Matt Hancock, the health and social care secretary, wants to tear up some of the changes made by Andrew Lansley, his predecessor, nine years ago. 

One of the most controversial changes made by Mr, now Lord, Lansley was to make the NHS, and specifically NHS England, more independent of himself as secretary of state. The change was never clear cut in practice – especially after David Cameron took fright and tried to modify the legislation as it was being passed – but Mr Hancock clearly wants the pendulum to swing back in the other direction. He does not seek to take the power to direct individual hospital trusts, but to intervene in the restructuring of local services. 

This is broadly sensible, in that greater integration of health services with social care is needed, and ministers should be held to account for the way in which such services are organised. The document says: “We want to strengthen the secretary of state’s powers of intervention, oversight and direction. This will serve, in turn, to reinforce the accountability to parliament of the secretary of state and government for the NHS.”