Clause 6 - Terms and conditions of employment by health service bodies
Health and Social Care Bill
6:45 pm
Mr Philip Hammond (Runnymede and Weybridge, Conservative)
I shall address the amendments tightly. The wider issue involved is best dealt with in a short clause stand part debate. The amendments would remove the reference to directions so that the Secretary of State could make regulations, but not directions. My understanding—I am sure that the Minister will helpfully correct me if I am wrong—is that regulations under the provisions of the National Health Service (Primary Care) Act 1977 would require a statutory instrument to be laid. They could be debated in Parliament, whereas directions are given by the Secretary of State without the necessity of or possibility of any form of parliamentary scrutiny. The amendments would simply ensure that, where the Secretary of State interferes in matters such as the terms and conditions of employment used by primary health care trusts or health authorities, he does so in a way that is transparent and scrutinised by Parliament.