The Health and Social Care Act (2012) introduced a number of changes to how HIV and sexual health services will be paid for and run in the future. From April 2013, sexual health and HIV prevention will become the responsibility of local authorities.
This means that more decisions will be made by local councillors and new bodies like Health and Wellbeing Boards. Government ministers will have less say in how sexual health is managed across the country.
For many local authorities this will be the first time they have dealt with sexual health for over 30 years. The move could mean that there are lots of new opportunities to bring services together, like linking Sex and Relationships Education (SRE) up with local sexual health clinics. However, it could also mean that some of the national focus we have seen on sexual health in the last decade could be lost.
It is now more important than ever that people get involved and take action to make sure that sexual health and HIV are prioritised in their local communities. Contacting local councillors and decision-makers to ask what is being done around sexual health and communicating how you feel about it can help to ensure that decisions are made on the basis of evidence and what works best.
Please email your councillors, asking them to help make sure sexual health and HIV is included in your local needs assessment and plans.