Cross-party commission proposed to review health and care funding

A cross-party commission to review future funding and structure of health and care services in England, will be proposed in the House of Commons by former minister Norman Lamb on 7 January.

Lamb, current Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Health and recent Minister of State for Care and Support, will be proposed in the House of Commons under the Ten Minute Rule Bill and has been welcomed by the NHS Confederation.

NHS Confederation chair, Stephen Dorrell, wrote to Lamb expressing his support and outlining four arguments that he believes support the case for ‘a new Beveridge Report’, which remains one of Lamb’s priorities.

The four arguments are: the need to develop new funding and management structures that deliver more joined up and supportive care, reflecting the needs of individuals; the implications of the less-than-10 per cent growth in public funding for health and social care service versus the expected 50 per cent increase in cumulative demand, and the ‘artificial distinction’ between the health and social care; ensuring time is ‘well spent’ on working out an agreed framework for the commission on a cross-party basis, to ensure ‘sufficient breadth of political and professional support’; and the need to consider how ‘the whole health and care spend’ can be used to get best value for public money.