Senior doctors and nurses such as those in nurse manager jobs are to be given increased control over the healthcare system, according to new plans for the NHS unveiled by the coalition government.

Although the plans have yet to be documented fully, the first details were revealed in the Queen's speech at the houses of Parliament this week and through accompanying comments made by the new health secretary, Andrew Lansley.

Nursing Times reports that NHS staff and those working in the health care sector will be given more control of their day to day duties and clinical practises as part of wider measures reform performance measures. The new government says that rather than a focus on targets with "no clinical justification", doctors and nurses in front line roles will be involved in forming new performance measures which focus upon clinical outcomes for patients.

The new government says that central authorities will take a "hands off" approach to the health care system in the future, allowing those in the profession to shape decisions rather than what they termed the "top down" approach of latter years. They say that too much political interference has been allowed to affect decisions regarding practises in the NHS.

Andrew Lansley, the health secretary, said that he was willing to take "personal responsibility" for the public health agenda.

The new plans also confirmed that public spending cuts will not affect the majority of front line health services. New measures will ring fence health care budgets and will also prevent health trusts from reallocating funds to pay for other services which may be subject to cuts, such as training or public service advertising.