When asked if the intention was to roll it out nationwide, Mr Hancock said: “Yes.”

 

Mr Hancock also said integration within the NHS and cutting bureaucracy will improve patient care.

He told the Health Select Committee: “There’s a lack of integration long, long bemoaned between the NHS and social care which over the last year we have managed to improve significantly, but still there are barriers in law preventing them working together as best they possibly could.

“Then, on busting bureaucracy, there’s currently barriers to giving high-quality patient care.”

Mr Hancock said this was due to the inability to share data “properly and appropriately” and clinicians spending too much time on bureaucratic work rather than patient care.

He also told the committee that the Government was proposing to take back the power to implement water fluoridation across the country.

Community water fluoridation in England is when fluoride has been added to bring it up to around 1mg of fluoride per litre of water which is a level found to reduce tooth decay levels, according to the NHS website.

Mr Hancock added: “There are very clear public health advantages to the fluoridation of water.

“It is very, very good for dental health.

“We are proposing to take responsibly back up to the national level.”

When asked if the intention was to roll it out nationwide, Mr Hancock said: “Yes.”