Matt Hancock set to scrap Public Health England
Public Health England (PHE) will be axed and replaced by a new body as early as next month.
The new body – to be called the National Institute for Health Protection – will be responsible for protecting the UK against pandemics, and will be created through the merger of NHS Test and Trace and elements of PHE working on the coronavirus.
The Telegraph reports that the merger will be announced by health secretary Matt Hancock next week, with the aim of having it ready for a potential surge in Covid-19 cases through the autumn.
The decision to scrap PHE comes after heavy criticism from within government for its role in the UK’s coronavirus respone.
It has been accused of failing to have the capacity to properly track the virus and administer tests when the outbreak began.
A senior minister said: “We want to bring together the science and the scale in one new body so we can do all we can to stop a second coronavirus spike this autumn.
“The National Institute for Health Protection’s goal will be simple: to ensure that Britain is one of the best equipped countries in the world to fight the pandemic.”
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The National Institute for Health Protection will have tens of thousands of staff and will be based on the Robert Koch Institute in Germany, which led the country’s coronavirus response.
Hancock is reportedly looking for someone with private sector and health policy experience to run the new body, with Test and Trace chief Baroness Dido Harding tipped for the top role.
The new institute will report directly to ministers at the Department of Health and chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty.
Test and Trace call centres will be wound up starting next month and will instead be replaced by council-run operations.
PHE’s work on obesity will also be handed over to local councils.