Clause 178 - Healthwatch England

Part of Health and Social Care (Re-Committed) Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 2:00 pm on 14 July 2011.

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Photo of Paul Burstow Paul Burstow The Minister of State, Department of Health 2:00, 14 July 2011

I beg to move amendment 199, in clause 178, page 157, line 36, at end insert

‘; and the Commission must inform the committee in writing of its response or proposed response to the advice.’.

We tabled the amendment in response to concerns raised about strengthening the status and influence of HealthWatch England. The views of patients and other service users should be, as I said earlier, central to the role of the Care Quality Commission in regulating health and social care services, and informing the action that the CQC takes in circumstances where services do not meet essential levels of safety and quality. The Bill establishes HealthWatch England as a committee of the CQC, and with that purpose in mind, we want to go further in clarifying its role. The CQC’s new HealthWatch England committee will place the views and experiences of patients and other service users at the heart of the regulator. It will provide a direct channel for the concerns of patients and other service users to the regulator, and HealthWatch England’s committee will therefore provide the CQC with advice and information that it needs to take action where the views of patients and other service users highlight substandard service provision.

New section 45A of the Health and Social Care Act 2008, as inserted by clause 178, sets out the functions to be exercised by HealthWatch England operating as a committee of the CQC. They include giving information and advice to a range of persons, including the CQC, on the views of patients, other service users, the public and local healthwatches. Most of those persons are required, by new section 45A(5), to provide HealthWatch England with a written response to such advice. Currently, however, the CQC is not. The amendment creates that duty for the CQC.

Let me deal directly with the criticism that I am sure will be made: that the amendment is identical to one moved by the Opposition, in particular the hon. Member for Islington South and Finsbury, who made some of these points in the Committee before. I freely acknowledge that that is the case. What we have here is an excellent example of what our decision to pause, listen and reflect was all about, and how it enables us to improve the Bill—a tendency that, I have to say, I never saw Labour exhibit during my time in opposition and that party’s in government.

The Government’s original thinking was that it would have been unusual and unnecessary to require the CQC to make formal written responses to one of its own statutory committees; moreover, we wanted to avoid creating the perception that there was a highly formal relationship between the CQC and HealthWatch England. We believe a clear distinction between the two bodies is needed, and we want and expect communications to be formal but also collaborative, with a continual two-way flow of information between them. Those views have not changed: we still need a collegial approach, as well as one that is formalised by such reporting requirements. However, we have listened, heeded and reflected upon the points that have been made, both in this Committee and since. As the NHS Future Forum put it in its remarks on HealthWatch England,

“Although it is technically part of CQC, it needs to be allowed the independence to discharge its functions freely.”

The Government unreservedly agree with that view and we believe the arrangements set out in the Bill will achieve that. Nevertheless, we heard the point about changing the basis on which it should operate. That is why we have tabled the amendment.