Bill continues through the House of Lords

Lords have voted down the amendment tabled by Lord Owen and Lord Hennessy that would have sent parts of the Health & Social Care Bill to a special committee for further consideration. The votes were 330 against 262.

The move to delay the legislation would have been ‘fatal’ Health Minister Lord Howe claimed, although Lord Owen asserted the amendment was not intended to block the Bill.

An amendment to block the Bill altogether, tabled by Labour peer Lord Rea, was also rejected by 354 votes to 220.

All Labour peers voted for the Owen-Hennessy amendment, but the crossbench vote itself was almost evenly divided across the two divisions with 46 in support and 51 against. No Conservatives voted for the amendment, but 193 voted against along with 80 Lib Democrats and six others.

This means that the Bill will now proceed to the normal committee stage in the House of Lords, where it will be debated in detail. Ministers hope the Bill will become law by the end of the current parliamentary session next April.

The issues that several Lords are concerned with include the move to increase competition within the NHS and the role and accountability of the Health Secretary.