Clause 14 - Commission for health improvement: constitution
NHS Reform & Health Care Professions
5:45 pm
Dr Evan Harris (Oxford West and Abingdon, Liberal Democrat)
I should like briefly to discuss the annual report. In earlier debates, the Minister mentioned the wider issues that I felt might be missed because of the relatively narrow scope, in terms of examinable tiers, of the commission's inquiries. The Minister prayed in aid the annual report, which might allow the commission's commentary on the state of the NHS to touch on issues that go wider than the microscopic level of inspection of individual hospitals. However, it is not clear that the proposed statute will grant such a power. Clause 14(4)(b)(1A) merely specifies that
''the Commission must also make a report to the Secretary of State and the National Assembly for Wales on what it has found in relation to NHS bodies and service providers in the course of exercising its functions during the year.''
Perhaps the Minister intends that the report should think out of the box—I hate that term when it is used by management-types—that he has drawn for the commission by insisting that individual inquiries must not take into account the terms of reference to which trusts must work. However, it might not be clear to the commission that it can do more than summarise its findings. If the Minister takes this opportunity to reassure me—or otherwise—on that question, we will know more clearly where we stand.