Schedule 1 - Constitution of public benefit corporations
Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill
8:55 am
Ms Hazel Blears (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (public health), Department of Health; Salford, Labour)
The purpose of the two amendments is to clarify further the eligibility of staff members to stand for the staff constituency of the governing bodies for foundation trusts. As the Committee discussed on Tuesday, NHS foundation trusts will design their own governance arrangements to reflect the needs and circumstances of their stakeholder communities within the framework set out in schedule 1. We have tried to devise the framework with as light a touch as possible. Foundation trusts need flexibility, but it is important that the statutory requirements be sufficiently robust to provide for a fair and representative membership.
The amendments clarify, for the avoidance of doubt, who is eligible to become a member of an NHS foundation trust staff constituency in line with the guide that was published in December 2002. The amendments provide that employees must be employed under a contract of employment of not less than 12 months. The amendments are simple and straightforward.