Speaking this morning, Starmer said NHSE would be abolished to ‘cut bureaucracy' and bring management of the health service ‘back into democratic control'.

Starmer said: ‘I am bringing management of the NHS back into democratic control by abolishing the arms length body NHS England.

‘That will put the NHS back at the heart of Government where it belongs, freeing it to focus on patients, less bureaucracy, with more money for nurses.

‘An NHS focused on cutting waiting times at your hospital.'

The announcement follows the resignations of chief executive Amanda Pritchard and the senior leadership of the body which has a workforce of 15,300.

Issuing a statement to the House of Commons, secretary of state for health, Wes Streeting, said: ‘Today, we are abolishing the biggest quango in the world.

‘This Labour Government will never duck the hard yards of reform. We will take on vested interests and change the status quo so the NHS can once again be there for us when we need it.'

Taking questions, Streeting said the Government was looking to cut the combined NHSE and DHSC workforce by 50% to save 'hundreds of millions of pounds'. 

He said NHSE will be brought entirely within the Department of Health over the next two years. 

End of an era

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, and Daniel Elkeles, incoming chief executive of NHS Providers, said the announcement marked the ‘end of end of an era for the NHS and marks the biggest reshaping of its national architecture in a decade'.

They added: ‘Our members will want to see strong voices maintained for the health service in future policy making and the major decisions that affect leaders and their staff. NHS England was set up to provide arms-length operational independence for the NHS from Government and it will be important that the service maintains its ability to inform policy-making and all decisions that affect operational delivery.'

Lib Dem leader Ed Davey said: ‘We'll never fix the NHS unless we fix social care – and I'm afraid the Government still isn't treating that seriously or urgently enough.'

Nuffield Trust chief executive Thea Stein said: ‘Today's news will be devastating for staff at all levels of NHS England, and we must remain mindful of the human cost of this decision.'

Stein added: ‘The Government should be careful that this doesn't lead to even more top-down micro-management of local services from Whitehall, which has been the bane of the health service. NHS England was set up to take the politics out of the NHS, but today politics has taken out NHS England.'

Hugh Alderwick, director of policy at The Health Foundation, said abolishing NHS England marked a ‘watershed moment in how the English NHS is governed and managed – and ends a 12 year experiment with trying to manage the NHS more independently from ministers'.

He added: ‘Scrapping NHS England completely will cause disruption and divert time and energy of senior leaders at a time when attention should be focused on improving care for patients. It will also eat up the time of ministers, with new legislation likely needed.'

Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said: ‘This announcement will have left NHS England staff reeling. Just days ago they learned their numbers were to be slashed by half, now they discover their employer will cease to exist.

‘The way the news of the axing has been handled is nothing short of shambolic. It could surely have been managed in a more sympathetic way. 

‘Thousands of expert staff will be left wondering what their future holds. Wherever possible, their valuable skills must be redeployed and used to the benefit of the reformed NHS and patients.

‘Ministers have to reassure employees right across the NHS that there's a robust plan to rejuvenate a flailing NHS and deliver for working people.'

Sarah Woolnough, chief executive of The King's Fund, said the ‘Government must be clear why this significant structural change at this time is necessary, and how its fits into their wider plans',

She added: ‘The potential costs savings will be minimal in the context of the entire NHS budget, and so they must ensure that the changes produce the improved effectiveness which is sought by making this change.  As with previous NHS restructures, structural change comes with significant opportunity cost, with staff who would otherwise be spending their time trying to improve productivity, ensure safety, and get the best outcomes for patients, now worrying about whether they will have a job.'

Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee, Layla Moran, said: ‘I welcome the boldness of today's announcement. As it raises as many questions as it answers, I am pleased that the health and social care secretary has accepted our invitation to come before our committee and has committed to doing so as soon as possible and before Easter, so that we can drill down into the detail of these changes. Our primary concern is that these changes deliver for patients and families across the country, and we will be holding the Government to account to ensure that they walk the walk not just talk the talk on improving outcomes for patients.'