131 Local Healthwatch Services Unite to Preserve Independent Public Voice

Open Letter to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

Re: The Future of Public Voice and the Importance of Independent
Advocacy

Dear Secretary of State,

We, the Chief Officers/Chairs of local Healthwatch services across England, are deeply concerned by the government’s proposal to bring public voice functions under the control of local authorities and NHS bodies - undermining the independence that makes public feedback effective.

For over a decade, Healthwatch has served as a trusted, impartial voice for members of the public, carers, and communities. Our statutory independence enables us to speak truth to power, challenge poor practice, and amplify the experiences of those too often unheard - particularly the most vulnerable and those with the most complex needs. We work constructively with local systems, but always with the freedom to raise concerns without fear or favour.

The Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust scandal stands as a stark reminder of the consequences of failing to listen. The Francis Inquiry made clear that independent scrutiny and public advocacy are essential. It also exposed the failure of local democratic scrutiny mechanisms, which lacked the expertise to detect serious failings - giving false reassurance to regulators.

Bringing public voice functions in-house risks creating a system where feedback is filtered, inconvenient truths are softened, and accountability is diluted. It sends the wrong message at a time when public trust in institutions must be rebuilt, not eroded. We have countless examples of where people have chosen to share their experiences with local Healthwatch instead of providers, due to fear of repercussions, previous dismissal, or lack of access. People often tell us we are the first service to truly listen and the only one that follows up to ensure they receive the support needed.

Beyond gathering feedback, Healthwatch provides trusted, independent information and signposting to help people navigate complex health and care systems. We also respond to concerns from the public by carrying out Enter and View visits and conducting focused research that has resulted in real changes to local services. Our local knowledge and impartial advice are often the only support available to those struggling to access services - something not readily offered by the NHS or local authorities, nor covered in the new 10-Year Health Plan.

Since 1974 there has been continuous parliamentary support for independent public voice initiatives being able to hold services to account. Therefore, we urge you to reconsider this direction. Instead of dismantling independence, we should be strengthening it - ensuring every community has access to strong, well-resourced, and fearless local public voice initiatives that hold services to account and shape care that truly meets people’s needs.

We ask to meet with you to discuss why preserving independent public voice is essential. We remain committed to improving services - but cannot do so effectively if our independence is compromised.

Yours sincerely,

The Chief Officers/Chairs of 131 Local Healthwatch services:

Manisha Modhvadia - Healthwatch Barking and Dagenham
Debra Gordon - Healthwatch Barnet
Sarah Campbell - Healthwatch Barnet
Dan Rogers - Healthwatch Barnet, Healthwatch Croydon, Healthwatch Haringey and Healthwatch Hounslow
Lesley Cooper - Healthwatch Barnsley
Amrit Kaur - Healthwatch Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire
Kevin Peltonen-Messenger - Healthwatch Bath and North East Somerset, Healthwatch Bristol, Healthwatch Gloucestershire, Healthwatch North Somerset, Healthwatch South Glos, Healthwatch Swindon and Healthwatch Wiltshire
Simone Kerr - Healthwatch Bexley
Andy Cave - Healthwatch Birmingham and Healthwatch Solihull
Sarah Johns - Healthwatch Blackburn with Darwen
Julie Darbyshire - Healthwatch Bolton
Helen Rushworth - Healthwatch Bradford & District
Patricia Zebiri - Healthwatch Brent
Gina Aston - Healthwatch Brent, Healthwatch Kensington & Chelsea and Healthwatch Westminster
Alan Boyd - Healthwatch Brighton and Hove
Geoffrey Bowden - Healthwatch Brighton and Hove
Carolina Echegaray - Healthwatch Bristol, Healthwatch North Somerset and Healthwatch South Gloucestershire
Charlotte Bradford - Healthwatch Bromley
Zoe McIntosh - Healthwatch Bucks
Andrew Holland - Healthwatch Bury
Stacey Appleyard - Healthwatch Calderdale and Healthwatch Kirklees
Jess Slater - Healthwatch Cambridgeshire and Healthwatch Peterborough
Stephen Heard - Healthwatch Camden
Diana Blackmun - Healthwatch Central Bedfordshire
Louise Barry - Healthwatch Cheshire East and Healthwatch Cheshire West
Rachel Cleave - Healthwatch City of London
Debbie Gilbert - Healthwatch Cornwall
Julia Catharall - Healthwatch County Durham
David Blacklock - Healthwatch County Durham, Healthwatch Cumberland, Healthwatch Lancashire, Healthwatch Stockton-On-Tees and Healthwatch Westmorland and Furness
Sally Thoburn - Healthwatch Cumberland
Michelle Thompson - Healthwatch Darlington
James Moore - Healthwatch Derby
Helen Henderson - Healthwatch Derbyshire
Pat Harris - Healthwatch Devon, Healthwatch Plymouth and Healthwatch Torbay
Fran Joel - Healthwatch Doncaster
Louise Bate - Healthwatch Dorset
Jason Griffiths - Healthwatch Dudley
Carleen Duffy - Healthwatch Ealing, Healthwatch Hammersmith and Fulham, Healthwatch Hillingdon and Healthwatch Lewisham
Helen Grimwood -  Healthwatch East Riding, Healthwatch Hull, Healthwatch North East Lincolnshire and Healthwatch North Lincolnshire
Carrie Duran - Healthwatch East Riding, Healthwatch Hull, Healthwatch North Lincolnshire, Healthwatch North East Lincolnshire
Veronica Kirwan - Healthwatch East Sussex
Sam Glover - Healthwatch Essex
Yvonne Probert - Healthwatch Gateshead and Healthwatch Newcastle
Lucy White - Healthwatch Gloucestershire
Dave Wilson - Healthwatch Halton
Lydia Hughes - Healthwatch Halton and Healthwatch Warrington
Stephen John - Healthwatch Hampshire, Healthwatch Portsmouth, Healthwatch Reading, Healthwatch Somerset, Healthwatch Southend, Healthwatch West Berkshire and Healthwatch Wokingham Borough
Paull Addae - Healthwatch Haringey
Yaa Asamany - Healthwatch Harrow
Christopher Ackers-Belcher - Healthwatch Hartlepool
Ian Buckmaster - Healthwatch Havering
Christine Price - Healthwatch Herefordshire
Ivana Chalmers - Healthwatch Hertfordshire
Lisa Taylor - Healthwatch Hillingdon
Lynn Hill - Healthwatch Hillingdon
Aastha Binjrajka - Healthwatch Hounslow
Catherine Fuller - Healthwatch Isles of Scilly
Laura Saksena - Healthwatch Islington
Robbie Goatham - Healthwatch Kent
Stephen Bitti - Healthwatch Kingston upon Thames
David Aspin - Healthwatch Knowsley
Paul Mavers - Healthwatch Knowsley
Folake Segun - Healthwatch Lambeth
Hannah Davies - Healthwatch Leeds
Gemma Barrow - Healthwatch Leicester and Healthwatch Leicestershire
Liz Ball - Healthwatch Lincolnshire
Navaz Sutton - Healthwatch Lincolnshire
Sarah Thwaites - Healthwatch Liverpool
Pat Lattimer - Healthwatch Luton
Neil Walbran - Healthwatch Manchester
Svajune Ulinskiene - Healthwatch Medway
Dave Curtis - Healthwatch Merton
Maxine Taffetani - Healthwatch Milton Keynes
Danielle Ruane - Healthwatch Network Greater Manchester
Pratima Dattani - Healthwatch North Northamptonshire
Paul Jones - Healthwatch North Tyneside
Ashley Green - Healthwatch North Yorkshire
Derry Nugent - Healthwatch Northumberland
Sabrina Taylor - Healthwatch Nottingham and Healthwatch Nottinghamshire
Veronica Barry - Healthwatch Oxfordshire
Alice Kunjappy-Clifton - Healthwatch Reading and Healthwatch Wokingham
Cathy Turland - Healthwatch Redbridge
Mike Derry - Healthwatch Richmond
Simon Boddis - Healthwatch Richmond
Kate Jones - Healthwatch Rochdale
Margaret Parker - Healthwatch Rochdale
Duncan Gall - Healthwatch Rotherham
Kate Holt - Healthwatch Rutland and Healthwatch West Northamptonshire
Sam Cook - Healthwatch Salford
Alexia Farmer - Healthwatch Sandwell
Amritpal Randhawa - Healthwatch Sandwell
Diane Blair - Healthwatch Sefton
Lucy Davies - Healthwatch Sheffield
Lynn Cawley - Healthwatch Shropshire
Sheila Scott - Healthwatch South Tyneside
Amanda Kelly - Healthwatch Southampton
Owen Richards - Healthwatch Southend
Rhyana Ebanks-Babb - Healthwatch Southwark
Jayne Parkinson-Loftus - Healthwatch St Helens
Anna Mather - Healthwatch Staffordshire
Maria Kildunne - Healthwatch Stockport
Simon Fogell - Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent and Healthwatch Telford and Wrekin
Andy Yacoub - Healthwatch Suffolk
Samantha Botsford - Healthwatch Surrey
Janet Wingrove - Healthwatch Sutton
Alex Leach - Healthwatch Tameside
Andy Latham - Healthwatch Trafford
Lewis Smith-Connell - Healthwatch Wakefield
Aileen Farrer - Healthwatch Walsall
Dianne Barham - Healthwatch Waltham Forest
Stephen Hickey - Healthwatch Wandsworth
Norman Holding - Healthwatch Warrington
Kate Rees - Healthwatch Westmorland and Furness
Lacey Briscoe - Healthwatch Wigan and Leigh
Kirsteen Sheppard - Healthwatch Wirral
Stacey Lewis - Healthwatch Wolverhampton
Siân Balsom - Healthwatch York