Schedule 1 - Schedule 7a to be inserted in the
Health (Wales) Bill
12:30 pm
Mr Jon Owen Jones (Cardiff Central, Labour/Co-operative)
I was not going to refer to the amendment as a wrecking amendment. I want briefly—extremely briefly compared with other hon. Members—to argue why the amendment should not
be accepted. CHCs are not adequately resourced to assess the level or quality of health care in their area. They can make a useful contribution to any assessment, but they are not resourced to take objective decisions. The newly strengthened Audit Commission will make those assessments, although the position in Wales is not clear.
I do not want the amendment to be accepted. It is not up to the task, and I do not want to give any comfort to anyone who might argue that there was no need for a proper audit body to make an independent and objective comparison between health care providers in the United Kingdom. I do not want to give anyone the excuse that we do not need such a body because the CHCs will do that job.