Following commitments to abolish GP fundholding in 'The new NHS' white paper, PCGs replaced family health authorities (previously responsible for commissioning primary care).
NICE aimed to reduce variation of the availability and quality of NHS services: later changing its name to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and extending into public health.
The Food Standards Act 1999 established the Food Standards Agency (FSA). It set out that its main objectives were to protect the public's health in relation to food.
Following its announcement in 'Saving lives: our healthier nation', the government created a new statutory organisation to improve standards in public health.
The plan (a milestone for competition policy in the NHS) outlined significant health and care system reforms and responded to the 1999 Royal Commission's report on long-term care.
The report of an inquiry into the emergence of – and response to – BSE in cattle and vCJD in humans criticised the way the government handled the crisis.
