Public affairs and communications management

The Department of Health has published its corporate plan for 2012-13, setting out central Government priorities for the year ahead.

Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley, has warned that overly prescriptive legislation to ‘force’ the merger of health and social care would not ensure high quality service provision.

In other news, Trusts are to offer large amounts of surplus land for housing development, and NICE is to lose some of its powers to approve the use of drugs for the NHS.