Part of Health and Social Care Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 2:45 pm on 17 January 2008.
Stephen Crabb
Conservative, Preseli Pembrokeshire
2:45,
17 January 2008
I am grateful for the opportunity to discuss Clause 47, which deals with the failings of Welsh NHS bodies.
I just about kept up with the Minister’s explanation, but some clarification is needed. It is not obvious how the clause will work in practice. My first observation is on the criteria by which the commission will assess whether there is a significant failing in a Welsh NHS body. The standards in Wales are now different from those in England. I have here the “Healthcare Standards for Wales”. There are 32 standards, detailed criteria that have been developed by Welsh Ministers in the Welsh Assembly. They are the basis on which Welsh Ministers judge the quality of health care provision in Wales. My question to the Minister is, what read-across will there be by the commission from the criteria used in England and the standards and criteria that are already being developed in Wales? If he were to look at the document, which came out two years ago, he would read that at that time the Assembly was developing integrated health and social care standards for Wales.
My other observation is about the strength of the duty that will be on the commission in terms of its reporting of failings in Welsh NHS bodies. Looking back to clause 46, which deals with failings identified in English local authorities, there is a duty both to inform the Secretary of State and to make a recommendation about special measures in terms of remedial action. In clause 47 there is no corresponding duty to make a recommendation. That seems to be optional in subsection (2), which says that the commission “may” make recommendations. My understanding of the clause is that Welsh Ministers are at liberty to ignore any recommendations made by the commission in terms of failures identified during reviews or investigations.
I would therefore welcome a bit more explanation from the Minister about how the clause will work in practice. The explanatory notes accompanying the Bill were not very helpful in that regard—merely five or six lines summarising the clause. I would like some assurance from the Minister that serious thought has gone into how the interface will work between the default Administration in Cardiff and his Department here in England, in terms of making the Bill a success.
A parliamentary bill is divided into sections called clauses.
Printed in the margin next to each clause is a brief explanatory `side-note' giving details of what the effect of the clause will be.
During the committee stage of a bill, MPs examine these clauses in detail and may introduce new clauses of their own or table amendments to the existing clauses.
When a bill becomes an Act of Parliament, clauses become known as sections.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
A parliamentary bill is divided into sections called clauses.
Printed in the margin next to each clause is a brief explanatory `side-note' giving details of what the effect of the clause will be.
During the committee stage of a bill, MPs examine these clauses in detail and may introduce new clauses of their own or table amendments to the existing clauses.
When a bill becomes an Act of Parliament, clauses become known as sections.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
