NHS England is the organisation which leads the health service in England. It was given autonomy by the Conservatives in 2012 with the aim of freeing the health service from interference by politicians. It takes the money provided by the government and funnels it into the different parts of the health service.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Thursday he would scrap a body overseeing the state-funded health system in England in a bid to save hundreds of millions of pounds and cut waiting lists and bureaucracy.

Sir Keir Starmer has announced the abolition of NHS England in a move he said would slash bureaucracy, save money and bring management of the health system “back into democratic control”. The shake-up brings the service in England back under the direct control of the health department,