Health secretary Wes Streeting has said he does not take the ICB redundancies ‘lightly’ and takes responsibility for the uncertainty created amid the cuts, in a speech at the NHS Providers annual conference.
Mr Streeting acknowledged that he was asking ICBs to ‘downsize significantly’, with ICBs told to make 50% cuts to their systems in March.
However, there has been uncertainty surrounding where these cuts will be funded from, which had led to a pause in the process across some systems.
This week it was revealed that the funding for the redundancies would come from within the existing NHS settlement and more details would be revealed on this ‘in the coming weeks’.
Mr Streeting told the conference: ‘Having overseen redundancies in organisations I’ve worked in previously, I want you to know I do not take this lightly.
‘I know this will be weighing heavily on all of you and the people who work for you, and I certainly don’t want ICB leaders to take the flack for decisions and timetables on headcount that are ultimately my responsibility.’
He added that he was ‘very alive’ to the ‘uncertainty that’s hung over staff for far too long’.
He said it had made him ‘uncomfortable’ and said it was his ‘responsibility, not yours’.
‘I have not resolved this quickly enough, but this is worth doing and we can now bring certainty to people from today,’ Mr Streeting added.
He said that he was giving ICBs the ‘go ahead’ to put in place voluntary redundancy schemes.
Mr Streeting also confirmed the abolition of NHS England would be ‘moving ahead’.
ICBs have already unveiled their plans for the cuts, with the total number going from 42 to 26.
The speech comes amid speculation that Mr Streeting is launching a leadership challenge to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, which the health secretary has denied.
Mr Streeting joked about this speculation in his speech. He said: ‘But I do want to address this leadership speculation up front, because I know there is concern about how long the man in the top job has left. So let me reassure everyone I’m doing everything I can to persuade Jim Mackey to stick around for as long as possible.’
