RESPONSIBILITY for public health in the county is to be transferred from the NHS to Wiltshire Council.

From the autumn the council is preparing to take on the running of health promotion campaigns targeting obesity, smoking, drug abuse and excessive drinking.

It will develop strategies to reduce teenage pregnancies and inequalities in healthcare.

It will also plan for epidemics, including immunisation programmes.

School nurses and health visitors will all come under its remit.

It will be given a ring-fenced budget by the government, and some NHS staff will transfer to the council.

A Health and Wellbeing Board is being set up which will include councillors, GPs’ representatives, Wiltshire service directors and the NHS Commissioning Board. It could also include voluntary groups.

It will assess the needs of local communities, and support joint commissioning arrangements.

The government wants to give councils the freedom, responsibility and funding to develop their own ways of improving public health from April 2013.

NHS Wiltshire will remain formally responsible for public health until then but its chairman, Tony Barron, said both organisations agreed that “an early start to the transfer is in the best interest of the staff and the service as a whole”.