Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, all 32 CCGs, all 33 borough councils, the Mayor of London Boris Johnson, NHS England’s Chief Executive Simon Stevens and Public Health England’s Chief Executive Duncan Selbie have today signed landmark agreements to transform London’s health and care by devolving powers and funding back to the capital.

The London Health and Care Collaboration Agreement and London Health Devolution Agreement, signed today at Great Ormond Street Hospital, will pilot new ways of working across London’s large and complex health economy with the longer term aim for further devolution of London’s health and care to the London system. The agreement aims to radically reshape healthcare provision across the city, in line with the aspirations of the NHS Five Year Forward View while also focusing on keeping Londoners as healthy as possible and maximising value from health and care estate.

Simon Stevens, NHS England chief executive, said: “In London’s NHS we’ve got some of the best health services anywhere on the planet – but also some of the most pressurised. London is the world’s most dynamic and diverse city – Why shouldn’t it be the healthiest? Today the NHS and London local government commit to testing better prevention for our children’s health, to new ways of joining up care for older people, and to shared action to free up unused buildings and land to reinvest in the modern primary care that our fast growing city clearly needs.”

Anne Rainsberry, regional director of NHS England London said: “I hope that today’s announcement will pave the way for a step change in the improvement in the health and wellbeing of 8.6 million Londoners. It provides the foundations to enable all parties to radically transform the way health and care services are delivered in the capital.

“Building on the Five Year Forward View, Lord Darzi’s report, Better Health for London, partners have committed to making London the Healthiest Global City in the world. This agreement today is the next step on this journey.”

Today’s signing marks the beginning of devolution pilots across London focused on different elements of devolution at different geographical levels:

• Haringey will run a prevention pilot exploring the use of flexibilities in existing planning and licensing powers to develop new approaches to public health issues; and
• North Central London (Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Haringey, Islington) will run an estates pilot to test new approaches to collaboration on asset use.
• Lewisham will run a pilot seeking to integrate physical and mental health services alongside social care;
• Hackney will run an integration pilot, aiming for full integration of health and social care budgets and joint provision of services. This will also have a particular focus on prevention.
• Barking & Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge aim to develop an Accountable Care Organisation, where primary and secondary care are more closely integrated and patient pathways are redesigned with a focus on intervening early and managing the chronically ill.

You can view the signed agreements online here [link when up]