Third Reading
Health and Social Care Bill
6:30 pm
Baroness Cumberlege (Conservative)
My Lords, I have no intention of testing the opinion of the House this evening. We have negotiated long and hard with my noble friends Lady Northover and Lord Howe. It has been a very interesting experience. Those noble Lords who have supported me by putting their names to my amendments have tutored me well in the art of negotiation. It has occurred to me that clearly you can negotiate only if both parties are willing to participate, and in this instance that has been the case. The Secretary of State, my noble friend and noble Lords have been more than willing to meet us and to debate and discuss matters with us, putting forward some very strong assurances about the future of Public Health England.
I know that my noble friend Lady Jolly wanted the amendment to be made to the Bill and for those words to be included in the Bill so that the constituency in the country-all the public health people involved-would see what we are trying to achieve. I knew some time ago that that would not be possible, and we have had a very full debate today, albeit at Third Reading, because we are very anxious to get all those assurances articulated and recorded in Hansard.
We will be keeping a very close eye on the development of Public Health England and I shall be framing the assurances that I have been given today. I shall have them on my wall and, when there are new Secretaries of State, I shall present them with this framed undertaking so that we can absolutely ensure that Public Health England goes from strength to strength and, as my noble friend said, is a world leader and, I hope, a world beater. We have a very good reputation in the world on public health. It is something that we must retain and improve upon, ensuring that we have a healthier nation for the future. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.
Amendment 14 withdrawn.
Clause 185 : Independent advocacy services
Amendments 15 and 16
Moved by Earl Howe
15: Clause 185, page 186, line 44, leave out from "England" to end of line 45 and insert ";
(ca) a complaint to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales which relates to a Welsh health body;"
16: Clause 185, page 188, line 13, at end insert-
""Welsh health body" means-
(a) a Local Health Board,
(b) an NHS trust managing a hospital or other establishment or facility in Wales,
(c) a Special Health Authority not discharging functions only or mainly in England,
(d) an independent provider in Wales (within the meaning of the Public Services Ombudsman (Wales) Act 2005),
(e) a family health service provider in Wales (within the meaning of that Act), or
(f) a person with functions conferred under section 113(2) of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003."
Amendments 15 and 16 agreed.
Amendment 17
Moved by Baroness Emerton
17: After Clause 229, insert the following new Clause-
"Power to register health care support workers in England
(1) Health care support workers in England may enter a voluntary register assured by the Council for Health Care Regulatory Excellence, provided they have attended an assured training programme prior to entry on the register.
(2) The assured training programme shall be mandatory for all new health care support workers from
(3) The Secretary of State shall develop a Code of Conduct for all employees (whether or not entered on the register) who are providing care to NHS patients (including employees of local authorities) who are seeking to develop the necessary competencies for health care support work.
(4) The Secretary of State shall review the procedures for training under this section, and its benefits or otherwise, within three years of this Act receiving Royal Assent."