Member

The Government are also taking steps to strengthen the role of mayors on key public services. On health, the Bill provides mayors with a health improvement duty, putting their responsibility in statute. The 10-year health plan also commits the Government to making strategic authority mayors, or their delegated representative, board members of their integrated care boards. This is so important. Local government leaders have often told me that pressures on the NHS in some places have mitigated against the engagement of NHS partners in other local priorities, but it is essential. If you think about it logically, engagement with other partners and collaboration on some of these programmes and projects may, in the end, alleviate some of the urgent care pressures that are stopping our NHS partners engaging.