The relationship between health and social services : Government response to the first report of the Health Committee on the relationship between health and social services, Session 1998-99 / presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Health by Command of Her Majesty, April 1999.

Great Britain. Department of Health

Date:: 1999

Credit: The relationship between health and social services : Government response to the first report of the Health Committee on the relationship between health and social services, Session 1998-99 / presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Health by Command of Her Majesty, April 1999. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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$general. Health authorities’ performance against the HImP will form part of their regular performance management arrangements with the NHS Regional Offices. The NHS and Social Care Regional Offices will also jointly monitor the development and implementation of Joint Investment Plans the key mechanism for joint planning for the delivery of health and social services to meet the objectives set out in the HImP. This will be carried out biannually. The NHS Executive is currently developing new arrangements to encourage innovation and stimulate improving performance in the delivery of HImPs. One such arrangement is a HImP Performance Reward scheme. The scheme will provide modest extra non-recurrent funding to those health authorities that make good progress against the targets laid down in their HImPs and the additional resources will be used to accelerate specified parts of their HImPs. This scheme will provide new incentives for health authorities to bring together successfully all the local players to improve health and health services, to drive forward local partnership working and to shape local arrangements around the needs of patients and communities. Recommendation 19 We advocate coterminosity of health and social services wherever beneficial and practicable, although clearly a lack of coterminosity should not be used as an excuse for a lack of co-operation. We recommend that social services teams reflect PCG boundaries and that in any future review, PCG boundaries are kept as far as possible consistent with the provision of social care in the area. (Para 52) The Government agrees with the Committee that lack of coterminosity should not be used as an excuse for lack of co-operation. Local authorities and health authorities have to relate to a wide range of organisations in order to achieve their objectives and wherever boundaries are drawn they will always have to build relationships and alliances across other boundaries. The new NHS White Paper*® set out the intention that PCGs. should develop around natural communities, but take account also of the benefits of coterminosity with social services. Guidance*’ issued by the NHS Executive on the configuration of PCGs also made clear that social services organisational structures should be taken into account. The Modernising Government White Paper?® stated that wherever possible, boundaries should coincide with local authority boundaries at local level, and with Government Office regions’ boundaries at regional level. The Government’ will work from a presumption that geographical boundaries should be aligned in) this way when this is sensible whenever public bodies next review their administrative, managerial or delivery arrangements and structures. Exceptions should be made only when there are strong over-riding considerations for example where the Government has already committed itself as a result of recent reviews. The Government expects all newly created bodies to aim to meet these requirements from the outset and will review progress in 2002. Recommendation 21 We urge the Government to ensure that, under any replacement system, full local accountability arrangements are maintained and that voluntary bodies retain their representation. (Para 55) Health Improvement Programmes (HImPs) have been established as the key mechanism for planning to improve the public’s health. The HImP process is intended to be fully inclusive. It is not about the NHS consulting on its own plans. It is about involving local authorities, the voluntary sector, the community, users, \$