Primary finance body divides into three arms

Community Health Partnerships will have three bodies, each with its own regional directors and business manager to continue work on the local improvement finance trust schemes, known as LIFT.

The offices will be based in Nottingham, Manchester and London, with the central office responsible for reporting to the board and to the DH and for setting strategy.

CHP has £1bn in roughly 100 capital projects, which could be affected by the comprehensive spending review in October.

A typical LIFT company is owned 20 per cent by CHP and 20 per cent by the public body with the rest owned by the private company.

The body, usually a primary care trust, leases or rents back the property to use. It is not yet known where the contracts will sit once PCTs are abolished.

LIFT National Steering Group Chair David Peat said: “We have done this after careful consultation. The stakeholders were very clear we should preserve the strengths of CHP around expertise and good practice. It will have a smaller core with a bigger presence in the regions to work with its partners.”