Proposals for the duties of health and well-being boards have been published today by the DH, and an eight-week pubic consultation on the plans is now open.
Health and wellbeing boards will be made up of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), local authorities, patient representatives, public health, and children's and adult social care leaders in each local authority ares, and are designed to support joined-up working across health and care services.
The draft guidance supports health and wellbeing boards with their Joint Strategic Needs Assessments and Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategies, which will set out the local needs and agree priorities for local commissioners.
Health minister Anne Milton said: 'The Health and Social Care Act encourages much more integration between health and care services, so that patients and the public can receive seamless care.
'Health and wellbeing boards are vital to that integration - the local authority, clinical commissioning groups, local Healthwatch, public health and social care leaders - getting together to agree what health and care services local people need and how they can best work together to make that happen.'
The consultation is now available online, with the final guidance due to be published later this year.