Part of Health and Social Care – in a Public Bill Committee at 11:00 am on 4 June 2003.
The policy intention is clear; the Secretary of State will delegate to a special health authority to make these appointments. Why not put the policy intention in the Bill to make it clear that the Secretary of State shall, will or must delegate? In that way the Secretary of State's statutory responsibilities and his accountability to Parliament will be protected and so will the bodies' independence, because they are appointed by a separate entity.