Clause 106

Part of Health and Social Care Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 4:45 pm on 22 January 2008.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Kelvin Hopkins Kelvin Hopkins Labour, Luton North 4:45, 22 January 2008

The amendments deal with the membership and composition of the CHRE, and would, among other things, increase the number of Scottish members from one to two and the number of English members from three to seven, and cut the number of CHRE executive members from two to one. If the overriding objective is a UK-wide approach to professional health care regulation, we need to acknowledge the need to continue and strengthen the relationship with Scotland, something that I suggest is politically important at the moment—I do not think that any Scottish Members are present today, but I hope that if there were they would support what I am saying—by having a more Scotland-specific view. Other UK-wide bodies, such as the Food Standards Agency, have two non-executives from Scotland, so why not the CHRE?

There is increasing fragmentation of health care across England, and CHRE needs to be able to reflect that in its composition, diversity and size. The extra English members will also provide reassurance that the CHRE council has the capacity to reflect a range of experience and expertise to span existing and additional functions indicated in the Bill. The CHRE’s senior executives already prepare council papers, attend, contribute and sit alongside council members and have considerable opportunity to influence CHRE decision making before, during and after council meetings. It would be more appropriate, and in keeping with the spirit of the White Paper, to focus on strengthening the CHRE’s lay membership. Our amendments are designed to achieve that through increasing English and Scottish membership, and therefore the council’s capacity to be, in the words of the White Paper, a truly

“authoritative independent voice for patients on the regulation of professionals, providing expert advice on policy”.

I think that I have made the case, and hope that my hon. Friend the Minister will be sympathetic to it.