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When I put the phone down, I began to wonder what I had agreed to. Sir Stephen Bubb is chief executive of the Association of Chief Executive of Voluntary Organisations I had just been asked by the prime minister to chair a panel reviewing the choice and competition provisions in the Health Bill, as part of the two-month listening exercise. But it's a great opportunity to ensure that important reforms to the NHS are improved, and people's concerns are listened to, and tackled. Some of this may also be about better communication on what the reforms are all about. When I was a local councillor in Clapham (south London), I was one of the council representatives at St Thomas' Hospital. We had a council health committee and took the links between public health, primary care and hospitals very seriously. Since then, the links between councils and health have weakened. I'm very clear that one of the important aspects of this Bill is giving back a strong role for local government in health. And when we consider that 70% of the health budget is now going on tackling long-term conditions, the need for more co-ordinated and joined-up services between health, local government and the third sector become, evidently, much clearer. I am to chair the work stream looking at the controversial aspects of the Bill, competition and choice. For me, choice is the primary objective. Competition is merely a means to an end. Choice is currently limited in our NHS, and we need a diversity of providers to enable more choice so that citizens are able to get the most out of their NHS. My colleague on the Future Forum, Geoff Alltimes, chief executive of Hammersmith and Fulham LBC, is reviewing public involvement aspects of the Bill, and we are working closely together on our shared agendas, looking at questions such as... Should we expand the GP commissioning consortia to include local councillors and third sector-patient representatives? How do we ensure health and wellbeing boards have strong links with the third sector at local and national level? And how do we encourage more diversity of providers, and enable health and social care charities to provide more? So, if you have any brilliant ideas – or even more mundane ones – do let Mr Alltimes and me know.

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Inside View

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