So true. We had and have local authority public heath systems in place for over 200 years, but this Government decided to create a national system and one which relied on contracting out to private companies, despite the local teams pleading for more money to do the job they've experience of, and the local knowledge to apply it sensibly, rather than broad brush.
I've heard some politicians claiming that Andy Burnham is playing politics. Well, to my mind, the ideological ignoring of local public health authority know-how, and the privileging of 'out-sourcing' to private companies and expensive consultants, really is playing politics.