Health and Social Care Bill

Session 2010 - 11
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Other Bills before Parliament

Health and Social Care Bill

Health and Social Care Bill
Part 1 — The health service in England
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14H
Dissolution
(1)
A commissioning consortium may apply to the Board for the
consortium to be dissolved.
(2)
Regulations may make provision—
(a)
as to the circumstances in which the Board must or may grant,
5
or must or may refuse, applications under this section;
(b)
as to factors which the Board must or may take into account in
determining whether to grant such applications;
(c)
as to the procedure for the making and determination of such
applications.
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Supplemental provision about variation, mergers etc.
14I
Transfers in connection with variation, merger, dissolution etc.
(1)
The Board may make a property transfer scheme or a staff transfer
scheme in connection with—
(a)
the variation of the constitution of a commissioning consortium
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under section 14E or 14F, or
(b)
the dissolution of a commissioning consortium under section
14G or 14H.
(2)
A property transfer scheme is a scheme for the transfer from the
commissioning consortium of any property, rights or liabilities, other
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than rights or liabilities under or in connection with a contract of
employment, to the Board or another commissioning consortium.
(3)
A staff transfer scheme is a scheme for the transfer from the
commissioning consortium of any rights or liabilities under or in
connection with a contract of employment to the Board or another
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commissioning consortium.
(4)
Part 3 of Schedule 1A makes further provision about property transfer
schemes and staff transfer schemes.
14J
Guidance about the establishment of commissioning consortia etc.
The Board may publish guidance as to—
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(a)
the making of applications under section 14B for the
establishment of a commissioning consortium, including
guidance on the form, content or publication of the proposed
constitution;
(b)
the making of applications under section 14E, 14G or 14H.”
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(2)
After Schedule 1 to the National Health Service Act 2006 insert the Schedule set
out in Schedule 2 to this Act.

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Commissioning consortia: general duties etc.
After section 14J of the National Health Service Act 2006 insert—
“General duties of consortia
14K
Duty as to effectiveness, efficiency etc.
Each commissioning consortium must exercise its functions effectively,
5
efficiently and economically.
14L
Duty as to improvement in quality of services
(1)
Each commissioning consortium must exercise its functions with a
view to securing continuous improvement in the quality of services
provided to individuals for or in connection with the prevention,
10
diagnosis or treatment of illness.
(2)
In discharging its duty under subsection (1), a commissioning
consortium must, in particular, act with a view to securing continuous
improvement in the outcomes that are achieved from the provision of
the services.
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(3)
The outcomes relevant for the purposes of subsection (2) include, in
particular, outcomes which show—
(a)
the effectiveness of the services,
(b)
the safety of the services, and
(c)
the quality of the experience undergone by patients.
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(4)
In discharging its duty under subsection (1), a commissioning
consortium must have regard to any guidance published under section
14V.
14M
Duty in relation to quality of primary medical services
Each commissioning consortium must assist and support the Board in
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discharging its duty under section 13D so far as relating to securing
continuous improvement in the quality of primary medical services.
14N
Duties as to reducing inequalities, promoting patient involvement etc.
(1)
Each commissioning consortium must, in the exercise of its functions,
have regard to the need to—
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(a)
reduce inequalities between patients with respect to their ability
to access health services;
(b)
reduce inequalities between patients with respect to the
outcomes achieved for them by the provision of health services;
(c)
promote the involvement of patients and their carers in
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decisions about the provision of health services to them;
(d)
enable patients to make choices with respect to aspects of
services provided to them as part of the health service.
(2)
In this section, “health services” means services provided as part of the
health service.
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14O
Duty to obtain appropriate advice
Each commissioning consortium must make arrangements with a view
to securing that it obtains advice appropriate for enabling it effectively
to discharge its functions from persons with professional expertise
relating to the physical or mental health of individuals.
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Public involvement
14P
Public involvement and consultation by commissioning consortia
(1)
This section applies in relation to any health services which are, or are
to be, provided pursuant to arrangements made by a commissioning
consortium (“commissioning arrangements”).
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(2)
The consortium must make arrangements to secure that individuals to
whom the services are being or may be provided are involved (whether
by being consulted or provided with information or in other ways)—
(a)
in the planning of the commissioning arrangements by the
consortium,
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(b)
in the development and consideration of proposals by the
consortium for changes in the commissioning arrangements
where the implementation of the proposals would have a
significant impact on the manner in which the services are
delivered to the individuals or the range of health services
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available to them, and
(c)
in decisions of the consortium affecting the operation of the
commissioning arrangements where the implementation of the
decisions would (if made) have such an impact.
(3)
The Board may publish guidance for commissioning consortia on the
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discharge of their functions under this section.
(4)
A commissioning consortium must have regard to any guidance
published by the Board under subsection (3).
(5)
The reference in subsection (2)(b) to the delivery of services is a
reference to their delivery at the point when they are received by users.
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(6)
In this section, “health services” means any services that are (or are to
be) provided as part of the health service.
Arrangements with others
14Q
Arrangements by consortia in respect of the exercise of functions
(1)
Any two or more commissioning consortia may make arrangements
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under this section.
(2)
The arrangements may provide for—
(a)
one of the commissioning consortia to exercise any of the
commissioning functions of another on its behalf, or
(b)
all the commissioning consortia to exercise any of their
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commissioning functions jointly.
(3)
For the purposes of the arrangements a commissioning consortium
may—

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(a)
make payments to another commissioning consortium, or
(b)
make the services of its employees or any other resources
available to another commissioning consortium.
(4)
For the purposes of the arrangements, all the consortia may establish
and maintain a pooled fund.
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(5)
A pooled fund is a fund—
(a)
which is made up of contributions by all the consortia, and
(b)
out of which payments may be made towards expenditure
incurred in the discharge of any of the commissioning functions
in respect of which the arrangements are made.
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(6)
In this section, “commissioning functions” means the functions of
commissioning consortia in arranging for the provision of services as
part of the health service (including the function of making a request to
the Board for the purposes of section 14W).
14R
Joint exercise of functions with Local Health Boards
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(1)
Regulations may provide for any prescribed functions of a
commissioning consortium to be exercised jointly with a Local Health
Board.
(2)
Regulations may provide for any functions that are (by virtue of
subsection (1)) exercisable jointly by a commissioning consortium and
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a Local Health Board to be exercised by a joint committee of the
consortium and the Board.
Additional powers of consortia
14S
Raising additional income
(1)
A commissioning consortium has power to do anything specified in
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section 7(2)(a), (b) and (e) to (h) of the Health and Medicines Act 1988
(provision of goods etc.) for the purpose of making additional income
available for improving the health service.
(2)
A commissioning consortium may exercise a power conferred by
subsection (1) only to the extent that its exercise does not to any
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significant extent interfere with the performance by the consortium of
its functions.
14T
Power to make grants
(1)
A commissioning consortium may make payments by way of grant or
loan to a voluntary organisation which provides or arranges for the
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provision of services which are similar to the services in respect of
which the consortium has functions.
(2)
The payments may be made subject to such terms and conditions as the
consortium considers appropriate.
Board’s functions in relation to consortia
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14U
Responsibility for payments to providers
(1)
The Board may publish a document specifying—

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(a)
circumstances in which a commissioning consortium is liable to
make a payment to a person in respect of services provided by
that person in pursuance of arrangements made by another
consortium in the discharge of its commissioning functions, and
(b)
how the amount of any such payment is to be determined.
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(2)
A commissioning consortium is required to make payments in
accordance with any document published under subsection (1).
(3)
Where a commissioning consortium is required to make a payment by
virtue of subsection (2), no other consortium is liable to make it.
(4)
Accordingly, any obligation of another consortium to make the
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payment ceases to have effect.
(5)
Any sums payable by virtue of subsection (2) may be recovered
summarily as a civil debt (but this does not affect any other method of
recovery).
(6)
The Board may publish guidance for commissioning consortia for the
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purpose of assisting them in understanding and applying any
document published under subsection (1).
(7)
In this section and section 14V, “commissioning functions” means the
functions of commissioning consortia in arranging for the provision of
services as part of the health service.
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14V
Guidance on commissioning by the Board
(1)
The Board must publish guidance for commissioning consortia on the
discharge of their commissioning functions.
(2)
Each commissioning consortium must have regard to guidance under
this section.
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(3)
The Board must consult the Healthwatch England committee of the
Care Quality Commission—
(a)
before it first publishes guidance under this section, and
(b)
before it publishes any revised guidance containing changes
that are, in the opinion of the Board, significant.
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14W
Exercise of functions by the Board
(1)
The Board may, at the request of a commissioning consortium, exercise
on behalf of the consortium—
(a)
any of its functions under section 3 or 3A which are specified in
the request, and
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(b)
any other functions of the consortium which are related to the
exercise of those functions.
(2)
Regulations may provide that the power in subsection (1) does not
apply in relation to functions of a prescribed description.
(3)
Arrangements under this section may be on such terms and conditions
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(including terms as to payment) as may be agreed between the Board
and the consortium.