Notes to editors
For further information or to request an interview with Chris Ham, please contact The King's Fund press office on 020 7307 2585 (or 07584 146035 if calling out of hours).
In addition to Kate Barker, the other commissioners are:
- Geoff Alltimes, chair of the LGA multi-agency task group on health transition and previously Chief Executive of Hammersmith and Fulham Council and NHS Hammersmith and Fulham.
- Lord Bichard, cross-bench peer and Chair of the Social Care Institute for Excellence.
- Baroness Greengross, cross-bench peer and Chief Executive of the International Longevity Centre UK.
- Julian Le Grand, Richard Titmuss Professor of Social Policy at the London School of Economics.
Mark Pearson, Head of Health at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, will act as the Commission’s international adviser.
The Commission will consider three broad questions:
- Does the boundary between health and social care need to be redrawn? If so where and how? What other ways of defining health and social care needs could be more relevant/useful?
- Should the entitlements and criteria used to decide who can access care be aligned? If so, who should be entitled to what and on what grounds?
- Should health and social care funding be brought together? If so, at what level (i.e. local or national) and in what ways? What is the balance between the individual and the state in funding services?
It will issue a call for evidence, commission research to help inform its thinking and engage with stakeholders to test ideas and options.
The King's Fund is an independent charity working to improve health and health care in England. We help to shape policy and practice through research and analysis; develop individuals, teams and organisations; promote understanding of the health and social care system; and bring people together to learn, share knowledge and debate. Our vision is that the best possible care is available to all.