NOTICES OF AMENDMENTS
given up to and including
Friday 11th January 2002
New Amendments handed in are marked thus *
CONSIDERATION OF BILL
NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE REFORM AND HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONS BILL, AS AMENDED
NEW CLAUSES
Readiness of Primary Care Groups and Trusts
Mr Iain Duncan Smith
Dr Liam Fox
Mr Oliver Heald
Mr Simon Burns
Mr Patrick McLoughlin
David Maclean
NC1
To move the following Clause:—
'(1) The Health Service Commissioners shall investigate the preparedness—
| (a) | of Primary Care Groups to become Primary Care Trusts; and |
| (b) | of Primary Care Trusts to receive functions in accordance with this Act. |
(2) If after conducting an investigation it appears to a Commissioner that—
| (a) | a Primary Care Group is not ready to become a Primary Care Trust; or |
| (b) | a Primary Care Trust is not ready to receive functions in accordance with this Act |
he shall lay before each House of Parliament a special report.
(3) If a special report is laid in accordance with subsection (2)(a) above, no action shall be taken by the Secretary of State pursuant to section 16A(1) or (1A) of the 1977 Act for the period of one year from the date of laying of the report.
(4) If a special report is laid in accordance with subsection (2)(b) above, no functions shall be transferred or distributed to the Primary Care Trust referred to in the report for a period of one year from the date of laying of the report.'.
Community Health Councils: scheme for reform
Mr Iain Duncan Smith
Dr Liam Fox
Mr Oliver Heald
Mr Simon Burns
Mr Patrick McLoughlin
David Maclean
NC2
To move the following Clause:—
'.—(1) The Secretary of State shall lay before Parliament within 12 months of the date of coming into force of this section regulations setting out a scheme for the reform of the Community Health Councils in England.
(2) The scheme set out by the Secretary of State in regulations under subsection (1) above shall extend to all parts of the health service (including the provision of Part II services under the 1977 Act).
(3) The Secretary of State may make regulations providing for access by members of a Community Health Council to premises from which services under Part II of the 1977 Act are provided.
(4) The scheme set out by the Secretary of State in regulations under subsection (1) shall provide for the proper representation of the population in the area served by a Community Health Council on that council.
(5) Regulations under subsection (1) may not be made unless a draft of the statutory instrument containing the regulations has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.'.
The Health Inspectorate
Mr Iain Duncan Smith
Dr Liam Fox
Mr Oliver Heald
Mr Simon Burns
Mr Patrick McLoughlin
David Maclean
NC3
To move the following Clause:—
'(1) There shall be a body corporate known as the Health Inspectorate, which will take effect from 1st April 2004.
(2) The Health Inspectorate shall assume at that date the functions undertaken prior to that date by—
| (i) | The National Institute for Clinical Excellence, |
| (ii) | The Commission for Health Improvement, |
| (iii) | The National Care Standards Commission, and |
| (iv) | The Council for the Regulation of Health Care Professionals. |
(3) The Secretary of State may by order make such amendments of the legislation relating to the health service in England and Wales as in his opinion facilitate, or are otherwise desirable in connection with subsections (1) and (2) above.'.
As Amendments to Mr Iain Duncan Smith's proposed Clause (NC3) (The Health Inspectorate):—
Mr Charles Kennedy
Dr Evan Harris
Mr Paul Burstow
Sandra Gidley
Mr Andrew A. J. Beith
Mr Andrew Stunell
(a)
*Line 5, leave out '(i) The National Insitute for Clinical Excellence.'.
Mr Charles Kennedy
Dr Evan Harris
Mr Paul Burstow
Sandra Gidley
Mr Andrew A. J. Beith
Mr Andrew Stunell
(b)
*Line 8, leave out '(ii) The Council for the Regulation of Health Care Professionals.'.
Public health functions of the Commission for Health Improvement
Mr Iain Duncan Smith
Dr Liam Fox
Mr Oliver Heald
Mr Simon Burns
Mr Patrick McLoughlin
David Maclean
NC4
To move the following Clause:—
'The Commission for Health Improvement shall have such further functions as may be prescribed relating to the management, coordination, provision or quality of public health services for which prescribed NHS bodies, service providers, local authorities or other bodies have responsibility.'.
Establishment of Patients' Councils
Mr David Hinchliffe
John Austin
Dr Doug Naysmith
Dr Richard Taylor
Mr Charles Kennedy
Dr Evan Harris
NC5
To move the following Clause:—
'(1) The Secretary of State shall, subject to subsection (2) below, establish a body to be known as a Patients' Council ("Councils") in England in each area for which an overview and scrutiny committee has been established under section 7 of the Health and Social Care Act 2001 (c.15); each council shall be appointed from among members of relevant Primary Care Trust Patients' Forums and NHS Trust Patients' Forums operating in that area and representatives from relevant community interest groups.
(2) Where it appears to the Secretary of State that there is a need to establish a Council for an area other than that represented by a local authority with overview and scrutiny functions, he shall, after local consultation, establish a Council for such other area as appears to him will meet the needs of the local community.
(3) The functions of a Council are to represent the interests in the health service of the public in its district and in particular to—
| (a) | facilitate the co-ordination of the activities of member Patients' Forums including by the provision of staff and services to Patients' Forums, |
| (b) | provide or make arrangements for the provision of services under section 19A of the NHS Act 1977 (independent advocacy services) at the direction of the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health, |
| (c) | represent to persons and bodies which exercise functions in its area (including in particular the overview and scrutiny committees and the joint overview and scrutiny committees mentioned in sections 7, 8 and 10 of the Health and Social Care Act 2001) the views of members of the public in its area about matters affecting their health, |
| (d) | advise the bodies mentioned in subsection (4) on involvement of the public in its area in consultations or processes leading (or potentially leading) to decisions by those bodies or the formulation of policies by them, which would or might affect (whether directly or not) the health of those members of the public, monitor the effectiveness of this involvement and co-operate with the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health in carrying out this function. |
(4) The bodies referred to in subsection (3)(d) are—
| (a) | health service bodies, |
| (b) | other public bodies, and |
| (c) | others providing services to the public or a section of the public. |
(5) The Secretary of State shall, following consultation with the Association of Community Health Councils for England and Wales, Community Health Councils, patients' and carers' organisations and the wider community, by regulation make provision in relation to Councils as to—
| (a) | the Patients' Forums and other community interest groups from which members of the Council are to be appointed, |
| (b) | any qualification or disqualification from membership, |
| (c) | terms of appointment, |
| (d) | the proceedings of a Council, |
| (e) | the discharge of any functions of a Council by a committee of the Council or by a joint committee appointed with another Council, |
| (f) | the circumstances in which Councils will co-operate with each other in the exercise of their functions and exercise functions jointly with one or more other Councils, |
| (g) | funding of Councils and the provision of staff, premises and other facilities, |
| (h) | the preparation and publication by a Council of annual accounts, |
| (i) | the provision of information (including descriptions of information which are or are not to be provided) to a Council by an NHS Trust, a Primary Care Trust, a Strategic Health Authority, the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health, the relevant local authorities or a person providing independent advocacy services (within the meaning given by section 19A of the NHS Act 1977), |
| (j) | the provision of information by a Council to another person, |
| (k) | the preparation and publication of reports by Councils, |
| (l) | the furnishing and publication by NHS trusts, Primary Care Trusts, Strategic Health Authorities and Overview and Scrutiny Committees of comments on reports or recommendations of Councils, and |
| (m) | the referral of matters of a prescribed description to any overview and scrutiny committee, the relevant Strategic Health Authority, the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health or the Secretary of State. |
(6) The regulations shall include provision applying or corresponding to any provision of Part 5A of the Local Government Act 1970 (c.70) (access to meetings and documents).
(7) In section 21(10) of the Local Government Act 2000 (membership of overview and scrutiny committees) after the words "who are not members of the authority" there shall be inserted ("and shall include a person appointed by the relevant Patients' Council").
(8) In paragraph 1 of Schedule 1 to the Health Authorities Act 1995 as amended by this Act after "(c) a prescribed number of officers of the Health Authority" there shall be inserted—
| "(d) | persons appointed by the relevant Patients' Councils.".'. |
