Clause 62
Health and Social Care Bill
3:15 pm
Jimmy Hood (Lanark and Hamilton East, Labour)
With this it will be convenient to take Government new clause 13—Avoidance of unreasonable burdens in exercise of regulatory powers.
Ben Bradshaw (Minister of State (Health Services; Minister for the South West), Department of Health; Exeter, Labour)
The new clause and the amendments that we debated earlier were requested by Welsh Ministers in relation to care provided in Wales registered under the Care Standards Act 2000, which will not fall under the scope of the new Care Quality Commission because it will only operate in England. Welsh Ministers wanted to take the opportunity to introduce enforcement powers for Wales that mirror many of those that the Bill proposed for the Care Quality Commission in England and said that they wanted a little more time to consider the full implications of that. That is why I regret having to bring in the new clause now. Having done so, they have asked me to put forward this new clause.
Stephen O'Brien (Shadow Minister, Health; Eddisbury, Conservative)
I can see that the Minister has had precious little in the way of options if the discussions with Welsh Ministers are on that time track. This is the first of the Government amendments that we have reached during the course of the Committee’s considerations and is one of some 60 amendments. Clearly, anything to mitigate the burden of regulation would, in principle, have my support. It would be helpful, however, at this first outing, when there are implications for Welsh Ministers and the progress of discussions with Welsh Ministers, if he could tell us whether those discussions have concluded or are ongoing, so that we can have full knowledge of what to expect concerning that in Government amendments and new clauses. I am sure that he would accept that we have not had the dovetailing we might have hoped for.
Ben Bradshaw (Minister of State (Health Services; Minister for the South West), Department of Health; Exeter, Labour)
They have.