The announcement of London's health devolution deal is interesting for a number of reasons – not least because it is another step forward in decentralisation and a push towards more sustainable public services.

The line-up at the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children was a signal of just how seriously this is being taken by Whitehall. The great and the good of politics and health turned out for the occasion – including Jeremy Hunt, Simon Stevens, Boris Johnson and a collection of local government leaders and chief executives. Heading them all was arch-devolver, George Osborne.