SIR – Andrew Wilkinson says Labour haven’t got a clue and asks since when did local councillors have anything to do with the NHS budget? (‘Keep campaigns local’, Letters, April 16). Well, perhaps it is Mr Wilkinson who is out of touch.

The new NHS and social care structures mean that local councillors have more responsibility for the NHS and health and wellbeing than they have had for decades, including new statutory responsibilities.

Health priorities, and thus the budget spend of the clinical commissioning groups, which is the bulk of NHS spend, are put forward for debate and signing off via local Health and Wellbeing Boards (H&WBBs).

In the Bradford district we have four senior councillors on the H&WBB; it is chaired by the leader of the Council. Likewise GPs and other partners have a say on how the Council is allocating its investment in social care.

Ultimately H&WBBs have responsibility for better integration of all Bradford’s NHS and social care commissioning and for improving the health and wellbeing of all the residents of the district. There are some NHS priorities which are ‘national’ but local priorities based on accessed local need will be the main driver.

Coun Jan Smithies, Prince Street, Haworth