Councils must be at the ‘heart' of the integration of care and health services, local government minister Brandon Lewis urged in a speech today.

In his presentation to The King's Fund charity, Mr Lewis said the status quo must be torn up but stressed that integration would not work unless the health and social sectors were equal partners.

Calling for change, Mr Lewis said: ‘Services in social care and in hospitals are not sustainable at current levels. ‘We are not doing this just to save money or avoid duplication – we're doing this to revolutionise local delivery of services. This is an opportunity.