Matt Hancock officially scraps Public Health England
Health secretary Matt Hancock has officially axed Public Health England (PHE) and announced the formation of the National Institute for Health Protection.
The new institute will be formed through a merger for NHS Test and Trace, the Joint Biosecurity Centre and parts of PHE, and will have a mission of “protecting people form external threats to this country’s health”.
“External threats like biological weapons, pandemics and infectious diseases of all kinds,” Hancock said.
“[The new institute] is conceived amid crisis, but it will help maintain vigilance for years to come.”
The new institute – which will be led by NHS Test and Trace chief Baroness Dido Harding – will report directly to the Department of Health and chief medical officer professor Chris Whitty.
It is understood that the new institute will be set up immediately, potentially as early as next month.
Before the Open newsletter: Start your day with the City View podcast and key market data
Hancock said PHE did not have the capacity to handle the early coronavirus response and that it was crucial the UK had better preparedness for future public health challenges.
The health secretary said the UK “did not go into this crisis with the capacity for a response to a once in a century scale event”.
However, Hancock still made of point of paying tribute to PHE workers in his speech at the Policy Exchange think tank.
“Colleagues at PHE, local directors of public health and their teams…you have been working around the clock since January,” he said.
“You have done exceptional work and I am so proud of the part you have played in tackling this pandemic.”
Many of PHE’s current duties – such as combating obesity – will be devolved to local authorities under the changes.