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Labour considers tightening Whitehall control of NHS
A Labour government would seek to tighten Whitehall control over the NHS in a push to boost productivity and meet ambitious targets to cut waiting times for treatment within its first term of office.
Two people familiar with discussions inside the opposition party said shadow cabinet member Wes Streeting could look to align the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England more closely if, as expected, he became health secretary after the election.
One option being discussed by Labour figures is to bring the senior leadership of NHS England (NHSE), the body that runs the health service in England, into central government through shared executive meetings.
“Wes is understood to be frustrated by the lack of accountability in NHS England,” one health official said. “It’s a logical move to make as having operational independence for the NHS works on paper but not in reality.”
The person added: “It is being seriously considered and much depends on their early exchanges with NHSE.”
Party insiders denied there was any plan to officially merge NHSE with the health department, a move that would reverse the operational independence granted to the service under controversial reforms introduced in 2012 by Andrew Lansley, then Conservative health secretary.
The possibility of a shake-up comes amid speculation that Labour will also seek to replace Richard Meddings as chair of NHS England. The former banker was appointed to the role two years ago by the then health secretary Sajid Javid.
With the NHS facing budget pressures and named as a top priority by voters, Labour is likely to be wary of any suggestion it is planning the kind of wholesale change that Lansley ushered in, which consumed large amounts of management time and was widely viewed as disastrous.
The health service is seeking to strengthen disease prevention and early diagnosis while clearing waiting lists for routine care, which stood at 7.57mn at the end of April. Streeting has repeatedly said extra investment would be conditional on reform.
A Labour spokesperson said the party was looking to foster “closer alignment and shared meetings” between NHSE and the health department if it were to form the next government.
“There has been a really bad relationship between the two bodies in the past few years and that’s not going to work if we’re going to turn the NHS around,” they said.
However, it was not looking to implement any top-down reorganisation within NHSE. Nor was it considering any changes regarding senior leadership or functions, the person added.
Source: The Financial Times, 2 July 2024
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Counterfeit tobacco and cigarettes seized outside Dorchester
Suspected counterfeit cigarettes and tobacco have been seized following a vehicle search.
The car was searched just outside Dorchester yesterday evening.
Police are liaising with Trading Standards and the HMRC for its investigation.
"A large quantity of suspected counterfeit tobacco and cigarettes were located within the car and seized.
"Officers will now be liaising closely with our partners, including Trading Standards and HMRC to carry out a full investigation. No arrests have been made at this time."
Source: Dorset Echo, 1 July 2024
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Australia becomes first country to ban sale of vapes outside pharmacies
Australia has become the first country in the world to ban the sale of e-cigarettes, also known as vapes, outside of pharmacies.
Under the new laws, vapes can be sold only in plain colours and packaging from 1 July. They can’t be locally manufactured or advertised.
The laws effectively ban the supply, manufacture, import, commercial possession or sale of vapes at any place other than a pharmacy. The ban applies even to vaping devices that don’t contain nicotine.
Australians must now produce a prescription to buy vapes and even then they cannot buy most flavours that are popular among younger users such as “bubble gum”.
“Therapeutic vaping products will be behind the counter, nicotine concentrations and dispensing quantities will be tightly controlled, they will have plain pharmaceutical-like packaging, and flavours will be restricted to tobacco, menthol and mint,” the Australian government said in a statement last week.
“Pharmacists will be required to check photo ID and, importantly, have a conversation with that person around the health harms of vaping.”
The new laws aim to revert vapes to their intended purpose as therapy for helping people quit smoking.
Mark Butler, the health minister, warned that convenience stores or tobacco shops caught selling vapes would be fined up to Australian $2m ($1.05m) and owners could be jailed for up to seven years.
“The best time to have done this was five years ago. The second-best time is right now,” the minister said.
About one in five 18-to-24-year-olds in Australia reported using vapes at least once, a survey found last year.
Source: The Independent, 2 July 2024
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