Under the proposed new arrangements, the Department will retain statutory responsibility for securing the delivery of the services necessary to promote the health and wellbeing of the population. The role of the authority will be to implement the Government's policies for health and social services, to manage performance of the system and to commission services to meet the demands of patients. These roles are not appropriate to a central Government Department. The new, much smaller DHSSPS will be able to focus on assisting the Minister with policy, legislation and strategic planning and resource allocation. This separation of roles within the new organisational arrangements will lead to clearer accountability, improved efficiency and better outcomes from more responsive, person-centred services.