11.10.11
Lord Owen tables amendment to the Bill
Lord Owen has tabled a new motion to replace the earlier amendment to the Health & Social Care Bill last week. Following discussion with Lord Hennessy, Earl Howe, and representatives from the Department of Health and the Chief Parliamentary Counsel, the new motion is specific to the issues that could undergo further deliberation.
The amendment is not meant to block the Bill, but could crucially improve a complicated aspect of the legislation relating to the Government’s responsibility to the NHS. Lord Owen and Lord Hennessy state that this motion would facilitate discussion on the floor, and cause no delay in the consideration of other aspects of the Bill.
The new amendment is as follows: “A Select Committee shall be appointed to examine and make recommendations to the House on the issues raised by the 18th Report of the Constitution Committee, namely the Government's and Parliament's constitutional responsibilities with regard to the NHS, in particular to clarify (a) the extent to which the Secretary of State remains responsible and accountable for the comprehensive health service, and (b) individual Ministerial responsibility to Parliament, and to report on the extent to which legal accountability to the courts is fragmented; that this House requests that the services of Parliamentary Counsel be available to the Committee; and that the Committee shall report no later than 19 December 2011.”
The Royal College of Midwives has commented on the amendment. General secretary Cathy Warwick said: “We hold significant reservations about the Health and Social Care Bill. We remain far from convinced that the Bill in its current form will enable the NHS to progress for the benefit of patients.
“An area of major concern for us is the future accountability of the Secretary of State for the performance of the NHS. In its current form, the Bill will effectively absolve the Health Secretary of responsibility for the NHS; that cannot be right. The NHS is unique because it is a publicly run service and consumes a considerable amount of taxpayers’ money. It is wrong to propose, as the Bill does, to remove the Secretary of State from the chain of accountability.
“We also share with others a similar concern about the level of competition this could bring into the NHS. The Bill could introduce competition into the NHS without public recourse to democratic oversight by elected politicians; again, this cannot be right.”
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