Schedule 1 - Constitution of public benefit corporations
Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill
5:45 pm
Ms Hazel Blears (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (public health), Department of Health; Salford, Labour)
I understand the hon. Gentleman's case, but it illustrates a wish to pick and choose the freedoms and flexibilities that he wants to support. As I have said before, the freedoms and flexibility in management terms and in the powers and functions of the NHS foundation trusts are inextricably linked with the freedoms of local organisations to choose the form
of governance that is best for them. We have sought in this schedule to set out the most minimalist framework possible, away from the centre, so that local people can get together to build a consensus and support the form of constitution that emerges.
Amendment No. 128 specifies two reasons why board meetings could be held in private. There is no need to specify the particular issues in legislation, as ''special reasons'', the phrase that is used, encompasses all necessary circumstances. To highlight just two would be unnecessarily restrictive. The phrase ''special reasons'' has not been plucked out of the air, but is based on established precedent; it is the wording used in the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960.
Some 43 years ago that Act set out the basis for special reasons. That meaning is well understood with regard to open meetings. The provision has stood the test of time over an extremely wide range of circumstances. It applies to meetings of a whole range of bodies, including trusts and health authorities, and clearly means that the organisation has to set out the special reasons stated in its resolution and arising from the nature of the business that it is considering at the time.