Clause 15
Health Bill [Lords]
12:15 pm
Michael Penning (Shadow Minister, Health; Hemel Hempstead, Conservative)
I decided not to move amendments 182 and 101 to give me a bit of extra time—[Interruption.] Just joking.
This important group of amendments addresses the fact that the Secretary of State is ultimately responsible to Parliament, and would require the Secretary of State to place before Parliament the report on the failing trust as soon as it was available. The report could be presented to Parliament or to a scrutiny Committee, such as the Health Committee.
When there are problems in the NHS, transparency is vital. I am sure that you agree, Mr. Key, that it would not be right and proper for the Secretary of State to have on his desk a trust special administrator’s report on how bad a situation was when Members of Parliament for the constituencies involved and, more importantly, the public and local involvement networks did not have a copy of the report. The amendments would require the Secretary of State to place the report on a failing trust before the House.