Reform UK Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire Dame Andrea Jenkyns is ‘deeply concerned’ about plans to merge with Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.

In a letter to health and social care secretary Wes Streeting, Dame Jenkyns called instead for Lincolnshire and South of the Humber and Yorkshire to be merged into a Greater Lincolnshire ICB.

She said: ‘Whilst I recognise that the country needs to do things more efficiently, I am deeply concerned about the proposals to merge the Lincolnshire ICB with Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB, and the Derby and Derbyshire ICB, who would then cover a population of 3.2 million people spread over more than 4,500 square miles of the country.’

ICB mergers are being carried out to meet demands to cut costs by 50%.

Dame Jenkyns added: ‘Greater Lincolnshire is a large geographical area, with dispersed populations. The Combined County Authority aims to drive economic growth for the region, and integral to that will be high quality health services.

‘Our residents deserve services that are tailored to their needs – particularly those in rural and coastal communities, and I don’t feel the proposals offer this. A Greater Lincolnshire ICB would be consistent and aligned with other public services whilst still enabling cost savings.’

A Government spokesperson said: ‘This Government has invested an extra £26bn in our NHS to cut waiting times for patients. At the same time, we are cutting back on unnecessary bureaucracy and duplication across the health service – including in ICBs – so that we can reinvest the savings in the frontline.

‘The secretary of state is considering a range of options but no final decisions have been made. We would invite the Mayor to submit her ideas for how cost savings can otherwise be achieved, which we are happy to consider.’

The Government said it had a long-term ambition of aligning authority and health boundaries but at the same time needed to respond to the immediate challenges facing the NHS, ensuring that local systems have sufficient scale to deliver services efficiently.

The DHS said future NHS boundaries will be determined in the best interests of local populations, ensuring decisions on boundaries do not undermine the quality or accessibility of NHS services.

Lee Peart is editor of Hemming Group’s Healthcare Management magazine.