Improving public health is a key priority for the Government and the Secretary of State for Health will take personal responsibility for leading and driving a cross Government approach to this agenda.

Public health is everybody’s business and people will be encouraged to take greater responsibility for their own health.

The Government will create a new public health service led by the Department of Health, in which:

•public health funding will be protected through ring fenced budgets;

•allocations will be weighted towards the most disadvantaged areas through payment of a health premium;

•local NHS organisations will hold the budgets and will be tasked with improving the health of their residents. They will work closely with local authorities, voluntary organisations and local business to deliver this. And they will be paid according the outcomes they achieve; and

•there will be revised incentives for GPs to prioritise preventative measures.

We will work in partnership with businesses and the third sector, and use innovative approaches based on behavioural science. The plans for the new public health service will be published in due course, and will be followed by consultation on the detail of the public health ring fence and the outcome measures to be adopted.