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UK Prime Minister Kier Starmer announced yesterday that NHS England will be abolished to “cut bureaucracy” and bring management of England’s health service “back into democratic control”. NHS England will be brought back into the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) over the next two years.

The Government aims to remove a “burdensome layer of bureaucracy” and “put an end to the duplication resulting from 2 organisations doing the same job”. In doing so, the intention is to save hundreds of millions of pounds, enabling funds to be channelled towards enhancing patient care, reducing waiting lists and increasing staff salaries.  However, exactly how this will be done and what impact this will have on patients, staff and the many partners of the NHS in England, including pharmaceutical companies, is not yet known.Continue Reading UK Prime Minister Announces that NHS England will be abolished

In the UK General Election on 4 July, the Labour Party won 412 of the 650 seats, giving it a comfortable majority. Its leader, Sir Keir Starmer, became Prime Minister, meaning a change of government from Conversative to Labour for the first time in 14 years.

In its campaign, Labour focused on the need to deliver economic growth and innovation in critical industry sectors. It also placed considerable emphasis on addressing the problems facing the National Health Service (NHS), such as long waiting lists for treatment, old equipment and an increasingly ageing population.

The government’s economic priorities were further set out in the first major speech delivered by the new Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves on 8 July, in which she said that growth “is now our national mission”. The Health Secretary Wes Streeting also noted his intention of making the Department of Health and Social Care a department for economic growth. While each of these are statements of intent and not binding on the new government, they provide valuable insight into what industry can expect over the next 5 years. We set out below some of the most relevant initiatives that could impact the industry.Continue Reading What does the new UK government mean for life sciences?