The Health Bill for England introduced to the UK Parliament

On May 14, 2026, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) introduced a Health Bill (“the bill”) to Parliament, initiating a staged approval process toward Royal Assent. The bill forms a key part of the government’s health agenda and is intended to support the changes set out in the 10 Year Health Plan, including the abolition of NHS England.

The bill supports two overarching aims: to place more power and resources in the hands of NHS organisations delivering direct patient care by reducing national bureaucracy, and to improve patient safety and experience through a new single patient record, enabling more joined-up, proactive care.

The bill legislates for multiple policy objectives and therefore introduces several measures, including the following.

Abolishing NHS England and creating a more efficient, agile, restructured DHSC

• Abolishing NHS England is intended to cut bureaucracy, increase efficiency, support reinvestment in NHS organisations providing direct patient care, and restore democratic ministerial accountability for national decision-making.

Reforming the NHS foundation trust model

• Reforms to the NHS FT model will give providers more flexibility to design and deliver healthcare around local needs. The reforms will introduce the basis for the criteria to convert failing NHS FTs into NHS trusts, supporting the principle of earned autonomy with a higher price for failure for those FTs that do not meet the necessary standard. 

Empowering integrated care boards (ICBs) as strategic commissioners

• The bill proposes transferring responsibility for most commissioning functions to ICBs, except for the most specialised services (which will be the responsibility of DHSC). Where ICBs will benefit from joint ICB collaboration and a critical mass of expert commissioning capability, they will have the support of the seven new offices for pan-ICB commissioning, one for each of the NHS regions.
• The bill also proposes removing the requirement to establish integrated care partnerships, allowing local areas to determine the most effective partnership arrangements.
• Financial accountability changes would support this shift, enabling ICBs to move away from performance management and focus on their role as strategic commissioners.

Abolishing Healthwatch England (HWE) and local Healthwatch

• The bill proposes abolishing HWE and embedding patient voice within the central government through a dedicated national director of patient experience. Local Healthwatch functions would be transferred into ICB and local authority engagement functions, bringing accountability closer to clinical teams and clinicians.

Creating a legal basis for a single patient record

• The bill would create a legal basis for a single patient record, enabling people to access their health record securely through the NHS App. It would also allow healthcare professionals to access the information they need from one place, supporting safer, faster, and more accurate care.

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