Tag Archives: health and social care bill

The Health and Care Bill, which is about to reach its end after the Easter break, has been a good example of a Bill which had not been thought through by the Government but massively improved in the Lords.

It is also a good example of what can be achieved by cross party working and a Minister who has been willing to listen, except when the Treasury has stuck its oar in and prevented compromise.

The Bill replaces the current Care Commissioning Groups in England with 42 Integrated Care Systems, each headed by an Integrated Care Board responsible for commissioning health and care services across its very large area. In principle the move towards integration of care is very welcome but the detail is crucial.

The ICS may include more than one Local Authority. The appropriate representation on these very powerful boards of Local Authorities and others with the right skills, knowledge and experience has been a big issue which we were determined to get right. I think we got a good result.

The Bill also introduces an advertising ban for foods high in sugar, salt and fat on TV before 9 pm and online. It also sets up a new system for investigating cases where things go wrong and where lessons can be learned by the whole service.

Crucially here we have been able to alter the Bill to ensure that people can give candid evidence in a ‘safe space’ without danger to their own future career. This is fundamental to the success of the system. Too often in the past, potential whistle-blowers have been deterred from saying what happened for fear of bullying and damage to their careers and potential learning has been lost.