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Public Health England

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SuccessorUK Health Security Agency, Department of Health and Social Care, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, NHS England
Staff6,749
executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care in the United Kingdom

Public Health England (PHE) is an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care in the United Kingdom that began operating on 1 April 2013. PHE's formation came as a result of reorganisation of the National Health Service (NHS) in England outlined in the Health and Social Care Act 2012 when it took on the role of the Health Protection Agency, the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse and a number of other health bodies.[1]

Activities

In August 2017, PHE announced plans to move its operations to a site in Harlow, Essex previously owned by GlaxoSmithKline. Once converted, the Harlow site would house 2,750 PHE staff from its current facilities at Porton Down in Wiltshire, Colindale in north London, and from its central London headquarters. [2] However, PHE's reorganisation – imposed by Health Secretary Matt Hancock in August 2020 – has put its move to Harlow in doubt.[3]

Future

In August 2020, it was revealed by The Telegraph that Public Health England is to be "scrapped" and replaced by a new body, called the National Institute for Health Protection,[4] which will combine PHE Porton, the NHS Test and Trace operation and the Joint Biosecurity Centre in response to the coronavirus pandemic.[5]

References