RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN BRITISH NATIONAL-HEALTH POLICY - AN EMERGING ROLE FOR LOCAL-GOVERNMENT

This article is in two parts. Part 1 reviews the recent arguments which have been made for elected local authorities to replace health authorities as commissioning agencies for health services in Britain. It assesses the particular potential of intervention by multifunctional local authorities in the context of the relationship between health status and area deprivation measures. Part 2 uses a case study of a Neighbourhood Renewal Assessment to illustrate how survey methodology can help identify the nature of local health problems and how this can be used to inform housing renewal programmes. This approach accords with the growing emphasis on outcomes in evaluating public expenditure. It also supports the case for local authorities to acquire responsibility for meeting health objectives.