[Withdrawn] DHSC single departmental plan May 2018
Updated 20 August 2019
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Our single departmental plan sets out our objectives and how we will achieve them.
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Permanent Secretary
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) helps people to live more independent, healthier lives for longer. We work closely with our partners in the health and care system, our arm’s length bodies and agencies, local authorities and across Government. We are also committed to ensuring that the health and care system puts patient safety and quality at the heart of everything we do.
Our objectives
We will:
- Keep people healthy and support economic productivity and sustainable public services
- Transform primary, community and social care to keep people living more independent, healthier lives for longer in their community
- Support the NHS to deliver high quality, safe and sustainable hospital care and secure the right workforce
- Support research and innovation to maximise health and economic productivity
- Ensure accountability of the health and care system to Parliament and the taxpayer; and create an efficient and effective DHSC
- Create value (reduced costs and growing income) by promoting better awareness and adoption of good commercial practice across the DHSC and our arm’s length bodies
1. Keep people healthy and support economic productivity and sustainable public services
Lead ministers
Steve Brine MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Public Health and Primary Care
Jackie Doyle-Price MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Mental Health & Inequalities
Lord O’Shaughnessy, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health (Lords)
Lead official
Clara Swinson, Director General, Global and Public Health
1.1 Improving people’s health and reducing inequalities
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Deliver the commitments in the cross-government Childhood Obesity Plan (contributes to SDG 2 & 3) |
| Embed the scheme for funding abortions for women from Northern Ireland (contributes to SDG 3) |
| Respond to consultation on consent in relation to organ donation |
| Public health Brexit readiness, working with Public Health England, NHS Blood and Transplant, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, the Human Tissue Authority, the Food Standards Agency, DEFRA and others |
| Reduce health inequalities across the health and care system to reduce unjustified variations in physical and mental health outcomes |
1.2 Protect people’s health
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Ensure readiness to manage emergencies affecting the health sector through preparedness, planning and exercising in accordance with the Government’s National Risk Assessment (with NHS England and Public Health England) |
| Manage the risk of a major pandemic flu or emerging infectious disease outbreak (contributes to SDG 3) |
| Lead the refresh and implementation of the 5 year UK antimicrobial resistance strategy (with NHS England, NHS Improvement, Public Health England, DEFRA, DFID and FSA) |
| Deliver the Global Health Security programme (with DFID) |
| Protect the health of the public by maintaining surveillance on threats, including air quality, infectious and environmental threats (with Public Health England & NHS England) |
| Oversee Breast Cancer Screening recovery and sponsor the Independent Review |
1.3 Improve health through employment
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Deliver on the Government’s commitment to see 1 million more disabled people in work over the next ten years because good work is good for health (with DWP) |
1.4 Strengthen the public health system
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Update the assurance, funding and transparency arrangements for local authority health service responsibilities by 2020/21 (with Public Health England) |
| Hold NHS England to account for its contribution to prevention, including the delivery of responsibilities, delegated by the Secretary of State, for commissioning specific national public health services |
1.5 Lead international engagement on health including Brexit
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Assure and coordinate Brexit readiness across the health and care systems portfolio of Brexit issues, working closely with Arm Length Bodies, the Department for Exiting the European Union, other Government departments, the devolved administrations and others |
| Implement a revised overseas healthcare payment system |
| Implement a common approach to international health engagement (with Public Health England, FCO, DFID, DIT and others) |
Our performance
Healthy life expectancy at birth (England)
| Years | Males (age) | Females (age) |
|---|---|---|
| 2014-16 | 63.3 | 63.9 |
| 2013-15 | 63.4 | 64.1 |
| 2012-14 | 63.4 | 63.9 |
| 2011-13 | 63.2 | 63.9 |
Healthy life expectancy (HLE) estimates lifetime spent in “Very good” or “Good” health.
Source: Health state life expectancies, UK: 2014 to 2016, Office for National Statistics; release schedule: annually
Prevalence of childhood obesity 2016/2017
| Age | Prevalence of childhood obesity |
|---|---|
| Boys (aged 4/5) | 10.0% |
| Girls (aged 4/5) | 9.2% |
| Boys (aged 10/11) | 21.8% |
| Girls (aged 10/11) | 18.1% |
Source: National Child Measurement Programme - England; release schedule: annually
Employment rates of disabled and non-disabled people
Equality Act Core Disabled – Great Britain, not seasonally adjusted
| Quarter | In employment (%) | Unemployed (%) | Economically active (%) | Economically inactive (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr-Jun 2016 | 48.3 | 10.0 | 53.7 | 46.3 |
| Jul-Sep 2016 | 48.6 | 10.0 | 54.0 | 46.0 |
| Oct-Dec 2016 | 50.0 | 9.2 | 55.0 | 45.0 |
| Jan-Mar 2017 | 49.4 | 9.1 | 54.4 | 45.6 |
| Apr-Jun 2017 | 49.6 | 9.0 | 54.5 | 45.5 |
Not Equality Act Core Disabled (excluding those who did not state their health situation) – Great Britain, not seasonally adjusted
| Quarter | In employment (%) | Unemployed (%) | Economically active (%) | Economically inactive (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr-Jun 2016 | 80.1 | 4.3 | 83.7 | 16.3 |
| Jul-Sep 2016 | 80.6 | 4.5 | 84.4 | 15.6 |
| Oct-Dec 2016 | 80.4 | 4.1 | 83.8 | 16.2 |
| Jan-Mar 2017 | 80.3 | 4.1 | 83.7 | 16.3 |
| Apr-Jun 2017 | 80.6 | 3.8 | 83.8 | 16.2 |
Source: ONS Labour Force Survey; release schedule: quarterly
2. Transform primary, community and social care to keep people living more independent, healthier lives for longer in their community
Lead ministers
Caroline Dinenage MP, Minister of State for Care
Steve Brine MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Public Health and Primary Care
Jackie Doyle-Price MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Mental Health & Inequalities
Lord O’Shaughnessy, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health (Lords)
Lead official
Jonathan Marron, Director General, Community and Social Care
2.1 Improve health and care through better use of primary care and the voluntary sector
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Recruit 5,000 extra doctors working in general practice and improve access to primary care |
| Set the framework to transform General Practice to improve the quality of care and reduce demand |
2.2 Improve the lives and outcomes for people with mental health needs, dementia and disabilities
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Improve mental health services by ensuring delivery of key commitments on mental health, in particular the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health, and working with our Arm Length Bodies, other government departments and the sector to set future direction for further improvement |
| Develop appropriate governance and robust implementation plan to take forward the government proposals on children and young people’s mental health and commence the implementation of trailblazers |
| Support the independent review of the Mental Health Act and prepare a government response to set future direction |
| Implement the Dementia 2020 challenge |
2.3 Enable an affordable and sustainable adult social care system that meets people’s needs, and transform health and care to join up services around people
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Work with NHS England to deliver and support integrated care systems and sustainability and transformation partnerships, and support NHS England in developing specialised commissioning information and data flows that improve transparency |
| Lead on the delivery of the green paper on adult social care reform |
| Lead on the development and delivery of care productivity and innovation proposals for the green paper and Ageing Grand Challenge, co-creating the programme with industry, academia and civil society |
| Improve the conditions which enable a sustainable and high quality social care system, including managing risks to the system |
2.4 Develop community pharmacy to provide a more efficient service whilst maintaining patient access and improving quality
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Develop and deliver the community pharmacy contractual framework reforms for 2018/19 and beyond, making adjustments as necessary to deliver the agreed funding level |
| Set drug tariff reimbursement prices and reform the arrangements to achieve better value for the NHS |
2.5 Deliver continued efficiencies in the medicines budget whilst ensuring patients have access to appropriate, safe, and cost effective medicines
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Deliver strategy and policy for a new 2019 medicines pricing scheme to replace the existing Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme which comes to an end in December 2018 |
| Lead the mitigation and management of medicines supply problems, taking account of a full assessment of the implications of Brexit on medicines supply |
| Lead work on the future of medicine regulation after Brexit, working closely with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency |
2.6 Improve health and care through better use of digital, data and technology
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Oversee and assure delivery of digital transformation programmes including through holding the Chief Clinical Information Officer to account and sponsoring NHS Digital |
| Improve cyber security in health and care |
| Enable citizens and the health and care system to benefit from the safe, secure and lawful use of data and information |
| Provide leadership on the use of digital and technology to enable innovation and deliver better outcomes, improve efficiency and reduce costs |
Our performance
Satisfaction with GP Surgery opening hours76.2% 2017
Source: GP Patient Survey National results and trends 2017 survey; release schedule: annually
Early Intervention in Psychosis waiting times: Patients that started treatment within two weeks in March 2018 75.9% March 2018
Source: NHS England (March 2018) Early Intervention in Psychosis Waiting Times; release schedule: monthly
3. Support the NHS to deliver high quality, safe and sustainable hospital care and secure the right workforce
Lead ministers
Stephen Barclay MP, Minister of State for Health
Caroline Dinenage MP, Minister of State for Care
Steve Brine MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Public Health and Primary Care
Jackie Doyle-Price MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Mental Health & Inequalities
Lord O’Shaughnessy, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health (Lords)
Lead official
Lee McDonough, Director General, Acute Care and Workforce
3.1 Assure the quality, safety and effectiveness of NHS hospitals
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Introduce new Trust reporting requirements of quarterly avoidable mortality data publications from 2017-18 and learning and actions to prevent avoidable mortality in annual Quality Accounts from June 2018 |
| Introduce the National Clinical Improvement programme, so every practising NHS consultant has a clear clinical metric or metrics from which to learn and develop (contributes to SDG 3) |
3.2 Support service improvement in cancer care, maternity and to armed forces veterans
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Hold arm’s length bodies to account for delivering the 96 recommendations of the independent Cancer Taskforce as set out in the Cancer Strategy for England |
| Work with system partners to oversee the delivery of Secretary of States’ ambition to reduce the 2010 rate of stillbirths, neonatal deaths, maternal deaths and brain injuries in babies that occur during or soon after birth by 20% by 2020 and 50% by 2025 and to reduce pre-term births from 8% to 6% by 2025 (contributes to SDG 3) |
| Improve the standards of care for veterans and members of the armed forces community by implementing the health commitments of the Armed Forces Covenant, thus reducing inequalities in access, particularly in mental health care |
3.3 Secure the staff needed to deliver affordable high quality and continuously improving health and social care services
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Ensure we have the right number of staff for safe quality care, supporting partners to develop and implement a comprehensive health and care workforce strategy |
| Ensure we have an effective system for workforce planning |
3.4 Improve hospital access and flow, and the delivery of NHS performance standards, including getting A&E back on track
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Assure priority delivery across all the core performance standards, including the 4 hour A&E standard, ambulance response times, Referral to Treatment, cancer waiting times, seven day services, and discharge and flow |
| Implement agreed performance improvement and transformation plans, including Urgent & Emergency Care Transformation, the Ambulance Response Programme, the Elective Care Transformation and Theatre Productivity Programmes |
| The NHS planning guidance for 2018-19 sets out the actions that the NHS must deliver in full as key steps towards recovering performance on core access standards and meeting the objectives set out in the mandate to NHS England. For elective referral to treatment, this is to halve the number of patients waiting over 52 weeks and have no more patients waiting for treatment at March 2019 as in March 2018. For A&E, this is to Implement the Urgent and Emergency Care and winter plans to recover performance to 90% by September 2018 and 95% in 2019 |
3.5 Maximise the resources available for patient care through efficient use of provider funding
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| With NHS Improvement support the Operational Productivity and Temporary Staffing programmes, in order to identify and deliver stretching provider efficiency savings in 2018/19 |
| Recover income from overseas visitors and migrants not entitled to free NHS care |
Our performance
Patients spending less than 4 hours in accident and emergency from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge 88.4% for 2017/18
Source: NHS England A&E Attendances and Emergency Admissions; release schedule: monthly
Incomplete referral to treatment pathways waiting less than 18 weeks 87.2% March 2018
Source: NHS England Referral to Treatment Times; release schedule: monthly
4. Support research and innovation to maximise health and economic productivity
Lead ministers
Lord O’Shaughnessy, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health (Lords)
Caroline Dinenage MP, Minister of State for Care
Steve Brine MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Public Health and Primary Care
Lead official
Professor Chris Whitty, Chief Scientific Adviser
4.1 Improve the health and wealth of the nation through health research and science policy
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Provide leadership, direction, strategic oversight and stewardship of the NHS, Public Health and Social Care research system |
| Ensure the UK remains the world-leader in genomics via the completion of the 100,000 Genomes Project |
4.2 Provide the evidence to enable a safer, more efficient and effective health and care system
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Prioritise and commission research, including for policy and practice through the National Institute for Health Research to meet the needs of patients and the public in England |
| As part of the Government’s aid strategy, we will support global health research that will deliver benefits to patients and the public in developing countries |
4.3 Build our life science industry into a global hub that makes the UK the home of clinical research and medical innovation by supporting collaboration across industry, NHS and academia and research
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Develop the UK into a global hub for clinical research and medical innovation, continuing to deliver on and further develop the Sector Deal |
| Support the NHS to increase patient access to and uptake of cost-effective innovations |
Our performance
The number of participants recruited to studies supported by the NIHR 791,200 in financial year 2016/17
Source: National Institute for Health Research; release schedule: annually
Inward investment secured in the life sciences sector 7.5 billion since the launch of the Life Sciences Strategy in 2011
Source: Office for Life Sciences; release schedule: annually
5. Ensure accountability of the health and care system to Parliament and the taxpayer; and create an efficient and effective Department of Health and Social Care
Lead ministers
Caroline Dinenage MP, Minister of State for Care
Stephen Barclay MP, Minister of State for Health
Lord O’Shaughnessy, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health (Lords)
Lead official
David Williams, Director General, Finance and Group Operations
5.1 Support Ministers and the Board to set direction for and oversee the health and care system
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Support Ministers to set the strategy for the health and care system through strategic policy advice and delivering the 2019 Spending Review to support financial sustainability |
| Improve governance and assurance for major programmes, performance and risk |
| Improve accountability for the health and care system, ensuring our key frameworks are effective and supporting policy delivery by the DHSC and holding our arm’s length bodies to account |
5.2 Ensure the health and care system lives within its means, now and in the future; and is accountable to Ministers, Parliament and taxpayers for efficient and effective delivery
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Deliver Financial Balance in the DHSC and it’s arm’s length bodies, holding NHS England and NHS Improvement to account for delivering financial balance of the NHS |
| Provide full transparency and parliamentary accountability through publication of our Annual Report and Accounts |
| Support planning and delivery of estate transformation, including oversight and allocation of capital to Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships |
| Maintain an effective counter fraud policy and delivering stretching and targeted financial reductions in the level of NHS fraud |
5.3 Develop our leaders, capability and skills to create an inclusive and great place to work
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Embed a culture that aligns with our values: that is fair and inclusive, respectful and confident, open and engaged |
| Make the DHSC a great place to work by developing and promoting the Department’s employee offer, which includes developing a comprehensive health and wellbeing action plan and continuing to deliver our diversity and inclusion commitments |
5.4 Make the Department of Health and Social Care a great and efficient place to work
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Set the strategy for, maintain, and improve operational service delivery |
5.5 Inform and engage the public, media and stakeholders on health and care
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Design and deliver insight-led, impactful campaigns and engagement programmes in support of the Department, the NHS and arm’s length bodies (eg Public Health England) |
Our performance
Revenue Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) NHS Budget £114.225 billion 2018-2019
Source: Department of Health and Social Care; release schedule: annually
For Revenue Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) Non-NHS Budget £15.66 billion 2018-2019
Source: Department of Health and Social Care; release schedule: annually
Total Budget (Annually Managed Expenditure in addition to the Non-NHS and NHS budget DEL) £140.42 billion 2018-2019
Source: Department of Health and Social Care; release schedule: annually
Employee Engagement Index 62%
Source: Civil Service People Survey 2017; release schedule: annually
6. Create value (reduced costs and growing income) by promoting better awareness and adoption of good commercial practice across the Department and its arm’s length bodies
Lead ministers
Stephen Barclay MP, Minister of State for Health
Lord O’Shaughnessy, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health (Lords)
Lead official
Steve Oldfield, Chief Commercial Officer
6.1 Support, challenge and assure the health and care system to deliver improved commercial outcomes
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Raise and standardise overall levels of professional capability across procurement and contract management |
| To oversee the DHSC owned companies, and sponsor the NHS Business Services Authority, holding them to account for delivery of agreed priorities and objectives, and supporting them to operate effectively |
6.2 Ensure the successful delivery of the Procurement Transformation Programme to support the new NHS Supply Chain
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Achieve the successful implementation of the Future Operating Model as the new NHS Supply Chain. This will improve the range of products used within the NHS and standardise high-quality, clinically-approved and economically-optimal products with a view to delivering £90m in cash release savings during FY 18/19. |
| Build relationships with suppliers to the NHS to help the implementation of the Future Operating Model as the new NHS Supply Chain, to ensure the voice of the supplier is heard and, through consultation and research, to inform the category strategies that will deliver value to the NHS |
| Proactively engage with suppliers and industry associations to achieve consistent and clear messaging, and monitor supplier behaviour to ensure they support the central route to market and do not attempt to disaggregate the customer base |
Our performance
Percentage of agreed targets that DHSC-owned companies deliver against
80%
Source: Department of Health and Social Care; release schedule: quarterly
Percentage of the Department’s spend with Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (Official target agreed by 2020) 23%
Source: Department of Health and Social Care; release schedule: annually
Our equality objectives
We have set objectives to help us advance equality which we are required to publish every 4 years. Our current set of objectives are:
- Ensure that the Public Sector Equality Duty is embedded in directorate business plans, reflected in our corporate priorities and is an integral part of any future priority setting for our organisation
- Continue to build and develop our relationships with stakeholders and the public, including those that represent groups with protected characteristics, to improve our functions and services
- Ensure that it is clear, throughout the policy development process, how we have paid due regard to the Public Sector Equality Duty
- As stewards of the health and social care system, we will build on our strengths in knowledge and intelligence by improving the information we hold and collect. We will reflect back this intelligence to our partners, in order to improve the health and wellbeing of the whole population
- Seek to improve accessibility and ease of understanding of any information and policies we produce. We will seek to improve the accessibility of the information that we provide to the public and stakeholders
- Improve our internal business processes so that equality and diversity is an integral part of everything we do. Our drive to increase value, efficiency and productivity will always consider the needs of people with protected characteristics, internally in DH and in our externally facing functions
- Ensure we have a motivated, diverse and engaged workforce who:
- live our behaviours of respect for each other
- experience equality in the workplace regardless of their position in the organisation
Our finances
Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL): £129.9 billion
Resource DEL (including depreciation): £123.5 billion
Capital DEL: £6.4 billion
Annually Managed Expenditure (AME): £10.5 billion
Control totals included in this document are in line with those presented in the Main Supply Estimates 2018/19 and are currently subject to Parliamentary approval. Any changes arising from the Parliamentary approval process will be reflected in due course.
Source: Main Supply Estimates 2018 to 2019.
An additional £21.1m has been allocated to the Department of Health and Social Care to support preparations for exiting the EU. This was announced alongside the Spring Statement 2018 and will be confirmed through the Supplementary Estimates 2018/19.
Our people
As at 31 December 2017, DHSC had 1,480 full-time equivalent employees, not including its agencies.
Source: ONS public sector employment data; release schedule: quarterly
How we contribute to cross-government priorities
We work across government on cross-cutting issues, including:
- Mental health
- Rough sleeping and homelessness reduction
- Industrial Strategy
- Immigration
- Housing
- Race disparity