Public health and health and wellbeing boards: antecedents, theory and development

Abstract

The 2012 Health and Social Care Act transfers responsibility for public health in England from primary care trusts to local authorities. This article traces the theoretical and policy antecedents of the proposals and highlights some key changes since their original conception in the 2010 public health white paper. It suggests that the development of health and well-being boards and their objectives can best be understood by viewing them through the theoretical prism of public value or new public service theory and concludes with some recommendations for their implementation and development.