Clause 2 - Independent Regulator of NHS Foundation Trusts
Health and Social Care(Community Health and Standards) Bill
10:45 am
Mr John Hutton (Minister of State, Department of Health; Barrow and Furness, Labour)
As is always the case, there is some truth in what the hon. Gentleman says, but it is not absolutely accurate. We must consider the context of the Better Regulation Task Force report. It was clearly talking about economic regulators. I accept that, but I do not want to make a huge issue of it, because we should keep an open mind about the emerging structure of the office of the independent regulator.
The hon. Gentleman's argument rested on one specific aspect of the Better Regulation Task Force report; however, wider issues are relevant. The hon. Member for West Chelmsford said that we should have a weak centre. I disagree. No part of the system should be weak; all should be appropriate. There is a role for the centre, although it will be different in future. It will be more broadly concerned with setting national standards and not with the operational role of the Department of Health, as has traditionally been the case.
The hon. Member for Oxford, West and Abingdon raised his concerns about the office of the independent regulator wanting to be part of the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection. It was pointed out by the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell that that would introduce a fundamental clash between responsibilities and respective roles, between the investigator and the person who might need to make decisions about the future operation of those NHS entities. In this regard, we should keep those functions separate. The hon. Gentleman said that he was trying to parachute elements of his proposals into our proposals. I wish that he would not do that. We are happy with our proposals as they are, thank you.