Lord Hunt predicts resistance in Parliament on proposals to abolish independent Healthwatch

Recent remarks from Lord Philip Hunt of King’s Heath, a former health minister in the Labour government, signal that the government’s proposed abolition of Healthwatch may face significant resistance in Parliament.   

Speaking recently on the HSJ Health Check podcast, Lord Hunt said he expected the government to come under “huge pressure” in the House of Lords over plans to abolish Healthwatch. Drawing on his own experience of abolishing community health councils, he reflected that he still bears the “scars on his back” from the political difficulty of dismantling independent patient representation.  

His warning was clear: If ministers remove Healthwatch, they must replace it with something genuinely strong and independent. As he put it, he “can’t see how an ICB can be expected, essentially, to mark its own homework”.  

These comments come as the government plans wider reforms to the NHS, which Lord Hunt characterised as “command and control from the Department of Health and Social Care”. 

On the timing of the bill, which government hopes to introduce in April 2026, Lord Hunt said it may pass “at best [in] December, but more likely January” [2027]. That may leave a tight turnaround to be able to enact the abolition of NHS England by April 2027, as is the government’s current plan.  

Why independence matters  

Healthwatch England was never valuable because of its name or organisational form. Its value comes from its independence, and it exists for a simple reason: people will not always tell the truth about their care directly to the services or organisations providing it.  

Patients and carers will not always speak candidly to the organisations that provide or commission their care. Many feel vulnerable or dependent and fear consequences. People need an independent body to provide the safety and trust necessary for honest feedback.  

The dismantling of earlier patient involvement structures in the 2000s left a clear gap in civic engagement. Replacement models such as the Local Involvement Network (LINk) community engagement system struggled to build trust or influence because they lacked authority and independence.  

Healthwatch England was created to fix those failures. Abolishing it without protecting the same safeguards risks repeating them.  

The value of local Healthwatch  

Local Healthwatch organisations provide that independence in practice. Rooted in their communities, they reach people who rarely engage through formal channels and create trusted, confidential spaces for concerns to be raised.  

Following the announcements of proposals to abolish Healthwatch, local leaders have been publicly stating their support for continued, independent patient and public voice. Wiltshire Council, for example, published a motion resolving to write to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, urging the government to reconsider the proposed legislative changes. The motion states: “The independence of Healthwatch is not a luxury but a necessity”.  

Meanwhile, the Sussex Integrated Care Board has stated in a paper on commissioning intentions that it will continue to commission the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector (VCSE) to lead engagement and co-production, because those organisations are trusted, rooted in communities, and able to challenge constructively.  

A welcome intervention  

Public Voice welcomes Lord Hunt’s intervention.