§ Lord Smith of Leighasked Her Majesty's Government:
How, in view of the wider social and economic influence on health, the new regional structure of the Department of Health will relate to other regional bodies. [HL104]
§ The parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath)Regional Directors of Public Health will be established in the nine Government Offices of the Regions by April 2003, and there will be four Regional Directors of Health and Social Care who will be National Directors of the Department of Health. This will encourage more joint working between the Department of Health, the Government Offices and other regional bodies on issues such as health, transport, regeneration and the environment. It will also align the department's work into established regional structures, building on the work already under way with the Government Offices, Regional Assemblies and Regional Development Agencies. This will allow for the further development of these partnerships and the taking forward of regional strategies for economic growth, social infrastructure and sustainable development.
The boundaries for different sets of regional bodies should not form a barrier to closer joint working, and for this reason the areas overseen by the new Regional Directors of Health and Social Care will be aligned with the boundaries of the Government Offices.