The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care is responsible to Parliament and the taxpayer for health and social care. It is therefore reasonable that the Secretary of State has the appropriate levers to ensure that Government policy is delivered. However, the White Paper does not give adequate detail on how the new powers proposed for the Secretary of State will be used. Nor does it set out the necessary safeguards to ensure that the powers do not open the door to the politicisation of the NHS.