Tag Archives: health and social care bill

NewsHound

NHS bill: Nick Clegg outlines changes aimed at Lib Dems

By NewsHound | Mon 27th February 2012 - 6:48 pm

BBC News reports:

Nick Clegg has set out changes to the NHS reforms which he says should mean the bill can be passed into law.

In a letter co-signed by Lib Dem peer Baroness Williams, the deputy prime minister sets out amendments he wants to see which would limit competition and the role of the private sector.

Downing Street said they were “not significant amendments – they are areas where reassurance is required”.

…Mr Clegg said he supported five “final” changes to the bill which aims to give GPs control of much of the NHS budget and would open up the health service

…

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Baroness Liz Barker

Baroness Barker writes… How the private patient income cap can benefit the NHS

By Baroness Liz Barker | Fri 24th February 2012 - 2:53 pm

Labour’s 2006 NHS Act deliberately opened up health services, including acute hospitals, to wide-ranging competition on price, not quality. Labour’s legislation allowed private companies to receive £250m for contracts which they never delivered. Liberal Democrat peers are working hard to ensure that the NHS, including Foundation Trusts (FTs), remain public services.

Indeed, in order to protect them from the full force of competition law and the threat of takeover by American healthcare companies, hospitals must not be deemed ‘undertakings’ or look more like private sector bodies. One way to achieve that is to make it explicit in law that the majority …

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The Voice

LDVideo: Lib Dem MP Andrew George calls for NHS risk register publication

By The Voice | Thu 23rd February 2012 - 9:45 pm

Liberal Democrat MP Andrew George voted on Wednesday to publish the NHS “risk register”, a document containing a detailed analysis of what could go wrong with the proposed changes in the health service in England. Here he explains why, and that though the Health Bill is now “less bad” he is yet to be persuaded it should go through:

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Tim Clement-Jones

Lord Clement-Jones writes… Plugging the loopholes left by Labour

By Tim Clement-Jones | Thu 23rd February 2012 - 11:53 am

Widespread competition was introduced to the NHS by Labour’s 2006 National Health Service Act, but without the public debate that is now taking place. The 2006 Act opened up the NHS to the risk of EU competition law being applied in a way that leaves commissioners unable to choose the best way of delivering services. Labour’s legislation meant private providers were favoured over NHS hospitals and paid millions for work which they never did. Very simply, Labour’s 2006 Act does not put patients first.

In the Lords, myself and colleagues are working hard to plug the loopholes left in Labour’s 2006 …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 16 Comments
NewsHound

LibLink: Mark Pack – Where next for the Lib Dems on NHS reform?

By NewsHound | Thu 23rd February 2012 - 10:21 am

Over on the MHP Communications blog, Lib Dem Voice’s Mark Pack has been pondering what will happen next on NHS reform:

It is becoming a fixture on the political calendar, that as spring approaches so too does another Liberal Democrat conference debate on health.  Cue headaches for Liberal Democrat party managers and nervousness among Conservatives.  What will the Liberal Democrat grassroots demand? How much will Cameron and Lansley be prepared to concede in response?…

At the moment, there are three different options for changes to the NHS Bill which different Liberal Democrats are pushing (I’ve yet to encountered anyone in the party

…

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Tom Smith

Opinion: Liberal Democrat, not Yes Minister, values must prevail on Risk Register

By Tom Smith | Wed 22nd February 2012 - 10:25 am

Back in 2010 we campaigned on a vision of open government and “new politics”. The debacle over the NHS Strategic Risk Register shows how far we have strayed from this policy objective and also how hit and miss the Coalition’s political management has become.

The Risk Register issue is just one in a very long line of political blunders in the life of the Health and Social Care Bill. This time the Government is still trying to oppose public opinion, the Information Commissioner and now a Labour motion in the Commons, causing far more political upheaval than necessary. Whatever the actual …

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NewsHound

Duncan Hames “breaks ranks” to call for publication of risks of health bill

By NewsHound | Mon 20th February 2012 - 1:54 pm

PoliticsHome reports:

An elderly protester clashed angrily with Andrew Lansley today as he attended a Number 10 summit on his NHS reforms.

Mr Lansley was also confronted with fresh signs of dissent over the controversial reforms from within the Coalition as a Liberal Democrat ministerial aide broke ranks to call for ministers to reveal the true risks of the new legislation.

Duncan Hames, who is Parliamentary Private Secretary to Energy Secretary Ed Davey, signed an early day motion calling for the publication of a “risk register”, which outlines the costs and risks of the Health and Social Care Bill. He signed

…

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Neil Foster

80% of Lib Dem voters want Lansley’s risk register published

By Neil Foster | Mon 20th February 2012 - 8:54 am

Liberal Democrat voters are most keen to want the Government to publish the Department of Health Risk Register. A new YouGov poll commissioned by Progressive Polling and Unite shows that two thirds of voters (68%) believe the Government should honour the ruling of the Information Commissioner.

Liberal Democrat voters are the most keen to see this act of transparency, with 80% backing such a move. 73% of Labour supporters want to see its publication as do 62% of Conservative voters. All ages, social grades and regions support its release.

The Information Commissioner’s ruling in November for publication was followed by remarks …

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Posted in The Independent View | Also tagged | 12 Comments
Mark Valladares

Health and Social Care Bill: a letter from Ed Milliband

By Mark Valladares | Sun 19th February 2012 - 3:50 pm

A copy of Ed Miliband’s letter to members of the House of Lords has fallen into the hands of Liberal Democrat Voice. This is what he has to say…

Dear Member of the House of Lords

I am taking the unusual step of writing to you and all your fellow peers to share my very great fear for the future of the NHS. I know you are aware that the decisions you have to make over the next few weeks on the Health and Social Care Bill are of huge significance to the NHS and to the country. I can think of …

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Mark Pack

Shirley Williams: how to sort out the NHS Bill mess

By Mark Pack | Mon 13th February 2012 - 10:24 pm

Earlier today I blogged about the odd and dangerous political situation the Liberal Democrats risk being left in – more in favour of the NHS Bill than large parts of the Conservative Party:

Arguing that you are the smaller party in a coalition and have achieved some important changes to a piece of legislation that has come from another party’s Secretary of State is one thing. But then ending up being keener on seeing the Bill go through than much of the Secretary of State’s own party? That’s skirting with political disaster.

Shortly afterwards (though I’m sure not as a result!), Shirley Williams took to The Guardian website to offer an escape route, both for the substantive policy issues and the politics of it:

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NewsHound

LibLink: what to look out for at Lib Dem Spring Conference

By NewsHound | Sat 11th February 2012 - 12:00 pm

The Voice’s Mark Pack has a post over at Total Politics, discussing the issues likely to dominate the upcoming Lib Dem Spring Conference in Gateshead.

The first thing to note, says Mark, is that some of the most contentious political issues of recent weeks such as the reforms to the NHS and to the welfare system don’t appear on the conference agenda as it was drawn up some time ago:

There is a slot for emergency and topical issues to cover this eventuality, but with only time for one motion, not all of the controversies can be aired. Unless a

…

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Jack Holroyde

Opinion: Lib Dem MPs must vote against the health reforms – not for health, but for democracy

By Jack Holroyde | Sat 11th February 2012 - 9:55 am
Lately, we have heard much about Andrew Lansley’s proposed reforms of the NHS, both from within the party and without.

Grassroots site ‘Conservative Home’ writer Tim Montgomerie came out in opposition to the bill, calling it ‘unnecessary and unpopular’. Lansley’s supporters have been less professional in their counter-briefing.

Lib Dems on all sides are throwing their all in to the debate about the biggest shake up to our health service in decades. I’ve found it difficult to have an opinion on either side – so as the debate has flamed around me, i’ve noticed a trend that I find very

…

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Prateek Buch

Senior Tories voice growing concern over NHS reforms, calling for ‘unnecessary and unpopular’ Bill to be scrapped

By Prateek Buch | Fri 10th February 2012 - 8:10 am

The Health and Social Care Bill has long been criticised by doctors, nurses, many Liberal Democrats and the Labour Party. To the list of those concerned about the impact of Andrew Lansley’s reforms can be added senior Tory figures including Tim Montgomerie, editor of ConservativeHome blog, and several members of the Cabinet.

According Tim’s editorial this morning, following on from a Times article earlier in the week (£), Conservative Cabinet Ministers are sufficiently concerned over how the reforms were being handled to press for the contentious components to be dropped and for only those elements that retain cross-party …

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Issan Ghazni

Opinion – NHS Reforms: It is not too late to pull back from the edge

By Issan Ghazni | Thu 9th February 2012 - 6:56 pm

If the Party is still licking its wounds and reeling from the catastrophic loss of public support over student tuition fees and the kicking received in the May 2011 local elections, then please be in no doubt, that the punishment it will receive from the electorate for its perceived co-operation in, and reluctant endorsement of, the demise of a much loved and unified national health service, will be on another planet entirely! And that will be despite the valiant efforts and guerrilla warfare carried out by our Peers led notably by Shirley Williams and others.

Essential to Cameron’s election campaign was …

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Paul Walter

PMQs: Cancel that firing squad!

By Paul Walter | Thu 9th February 2012 - 2:54 pm

We started yesterday with warm congraulations to Her Majesty on attaining the sixtieth anniversary of her accession to the throne.

For the second week running at Prime Minister’s Questions, Ed Miliband’s inquiries were on health reform. He had one of his most successful sessions so far, during which we found out that David Cameron doesn’t want Andrew Lansley to be taken out and shot.

Miliband was on excellent form and, by golly by gosh, at one point he almost ascended to the John Smith “hotels fall into the sea” level of stinging wit, with this passage:

Isn’t this interesting? The Prime Minister says

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Paul Walter

PMQs: Miliband goes all Thatcher

By Paul Walter | Thu 2nd February 2012 - 1:54 pm

Full marks to Ed Miliband. He had a good Prime Minister’s Questions this week.

One of the reasons he did so well is that he took a leaf out of Margaret Thatcher’s book. He lowered the tone of his voice. Gone was the shrill shouting of recent weeks. Instead we had a calm, firm low tone. And he slowed down his delivery, making it very de-li-ber-ate. As a result he sounded a lot more effective.

First on executive pay, and then on the NHS, Miliband did well against the PM. For me, his line of the week was this one on top …

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Mark Valladares

Coming up in the Lords… 6-16 February

By Mark Valladares | Tue 31st January 2012 - 1:13 pm

Whilst the Commons continues to doze, the Lords continues to put in a long shift at the legislative coalface. This week, the highlights are as follows;

Day 2 of the Report Stage of the Protection of Freedoms Bill takes place on 6 February, with rumours of a Conservative-led rebellion on the vexed question of the vast array of people and organisations that have access to your home. We hope to have an article on the subject nearer the time, so watch this space.

On 7 and 9 February, the …

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The Voice

Shirley Williams’ campaign against NHS reforms wins new concessions from Lansley

By The Voice | Sun 29th January 2012 - 12:30 pm

Here’s how The Guardian reports today’s news that the Coalition will offer further concessions to the NHS reform bill in an attempt to head off a revolt in the House of Lords led by Lib Dem peer Baroness Williams:

… ministers will table a series of amendments to the health and social care bill that will oblige Andrew Lansley to maintain the NHS as a national public service and, his critics say, limit his ambitions to expand the role of the private sector. The changes will also spell out the kind of services that must be offered by GPs and

…

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Prateek Buch

Will Lansley’s NHS reforms make episodes like the PIP implant scandal more common?

By Prateek Buch | Fri 13th January 2012 - 10:00 am

Such is the argument deployed by the editor of the UK’s leading medical journal, Richard Horton, in analysing the implications of both the recent breast implant scare and the Health and Social Care Bill for the NHS.

Horton acknowledges that the specific case of PIP, and the industrial-grade silicone they appear to have used in breast implants, represents clear regulatory failures at the hands of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).  The Health and Social Care Bill has very little to say about how the way in which medical devices are regulated and any changes to the …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , and | 27 Comments
Graham Winyard

Opinion: Parliament needs our help on the NHS Bill

By Graham Winyard | Wed 4th January 2012 - 4:48 pm

We are in real difficulty over the NHS Bill.  Spring conference showed the party at its best.  The membership expressed concerns and the leadership responded deftly with the “listening exercise”.  This aimed to reassure NHS and public opinion by securing substantial changes to Andrew Lansley’s proposals, without too much loss of face within the coalition.

We have not succeeded.  The changes to the Bill have failed to quell fears that the NHS is being fragmented in pursuit of market dogma.  There is no serious support or enthusiasm for the Bill within the NHS; indeed opposition among the health professions is hardening.  …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 24 Comments
Tim Clement-Jones

Tim Clement-Jones writes… We need a decision on the Risk Register

By Tim Clement-Jones | Mon 12th December 2011 - 1:25 pm

Last week we debated in the Lords the decision of the Government to appeal against the decision by the Information Commissioner that the Department of Health should release the so-called Risk Register on the Health and Social Care Bill. Together with my colleague Shirley Williams, I argued that it is right that the Department appealed because this is a very finely balanced argument, as the initial ruling made clear but that all the involved parties should ask the Tribunal that the hearing is expedited. This is a very fundamental case and we shouldn’t have to wait until March or April …

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Baroness Liz Barker

Baroness Liz Barker writes: Liberal Democrat peers working to secure an NHS fit for the future

By Baroness Liz Barker | Wed 7th December 2011 - 6:53 pm

After five weeks of detailed, intensive scrutiny the House of Lords is about to start discussing Part 3 of the Health and Social Care Bill. This is the part which deals with the role of Monitor and EU competition law.

Building on the work of Nick Clegg in June this year following the listening exercise, Liberal Democrat peers are working hard to ensure that the legislation fully reflects our policy that competition should be strictly limited to those areas of commissioning and provision where there is evidence that it improves patient outcomes.

We will continue to argue that there should be nothing …

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Mark Pack

A trio of Tory / Liberal Democrat disagreements in government

By Mark Pack | Wed 26th October 2011 - 11:55 pm

Like London buses, Tory / Liberal Democrat disagreements are coming along all bunched together at the moment:

Energy Secretary Chris Huhne has criticised “climate sceptics” and others who he argues are decrying the UK’s potential for renewable power … His comments are being interpreted by some as a riposte to Chancellor George Osborne who is believed to be more sceptical about the investment needed. (BBC)

Vince Cable rejects proposal to abolish unfair dismissal laws: Business secretary said plan devised by strategist Steve Hilton was unnecessary and unlikely to improve labour market flexibility (The Guardian)

In order to safeguard the NHS, free at

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Nick T

LibLink: Paul Tyler – The Lords are listening, but not to rent-a-mob email campaigns

By Nick T | Wed 26th October 2011 - 12:58 pm

Over on the Guardian’s Comment Is Free, Lib Dem peer Lord (Paul) Tyler has a piece on the (not particularly successful) campaign by 38-Degrees to lobby members of the House of Lords over health reform.

Here’s a sample:

As a peer who received many 38 Degrees-inspired communications in the runup to the debate over the NHS bill, I can say with some confidence that their lack of influence was strongly linked to the unduly polarising approach they took to this issue. They picked the wrong battle, and the wrong argument.

Their battle was essentially on whether to

…

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Baroness Liz Barker

Baroness Liz Barker writes… The Health and Social Care Bill in the Lords

By Baroness Liz Barker | Mon 17th October 2011 - 2:53 pm

I have spent my entire working life in the field of health and social care. For many years I worked for Age Concern and for all my time in the Lords I have been a member of the Health and Social Care team. I am, and always will be, a passionate supporter of an NHS which is free at the point of need and open to all regardless of their ability to pay.

Although the Health and Social Care Bill only came to the Lords this week I have been working on it for several months along with Liberal Democrat colleagues, including …

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Judith Jolly

Baroness Judith Jolly writes… The House of Lords will challenge, revise and improve the Health Bill

By Judith Jolly | Tue 11th October 2011 - 4:53 pm

Tony Blair, on the eve of the 1997 General Election, famously proclaimed that we have just “24 hours to save the NHS”. A nice rhetorical flourish, but lacking in objectivity. Perhaps somewhat like the Labour party. Similar language is once again being used this week as the House of Lords debates giving a second reading to the Health and Social Care Bill. Opposition groups have jumped on this by suggesting that this is the last chance to ‘stop’ this Bill. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the complexity of the inner workings of the House of Lords, this doesn’t properly reflect …

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Stephen Tall

Lib Dem Voice survey shows members narrowly oppose Coalition’s NHS reforms

By Stephen Tall | Thu 22nd September 2011 - 1:55 pm

Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Some 550 party members responded, and we’re currently publishing the full results.

Lib Dem members vote 43% to 37% against Coalition’s NHS reforms

LDV asked: The Health and Social Care Bill which will implement radical reforms to the NHS was passed on 6 September. The Bill was changed significantly to reflect Lib Dem policy proposals passed at the Spring conference. Critics say the changes do not go far enough to address concerns that the Bill will lead to creeping privatisation of the NHS. The Bill’s supporters say that the reforms will introduce more patient choice and improve healthcare. From what you have read or heard about these plans, do you support or oppose the Bill overall?

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Posted in LDV Members poll | Also tagged | 8 Comments
Tom Smith

Opinion: Seize the opportunities in the NHS reforms

By Tom Smith | Wed 7th September 2011 - 4:10 pm

The Health and Social Care Bill looks like it will have a bumpy ride through the Commons when Parliament returns this week. There are furious complaints from 38 degrees and others that the reforms will introduce privatisation by the back door, open up the NHS to being subject to competition law and allow the Secretary of State to wash his hands of the NHS altogether. Whatever the merits of these arguments, they somewhat miss the point.

The argument over the inclusion or otherwise of the Secretary of State’s responsibility to provide a comprehensive service in the Bill is …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged | 29 Comments
Paul Burstow

Paul Burstow MP writes: Keeping competition in its box

By Paul Burstow | Thu 14th July 2011 - 9:06 am

Mention the words “competition” and “the NHS”, and you will often get the same two responses. A misapprehension which confuses competition with privatisation. But also an instinctive desire to reject new providers in order to protect the NHS. We understand this reaction, and we understand why people are cautious about competition.

The creation of the NHS is a cherished part of the liberal story. It was a liberal, working in a Coalition, who first imagined the NHS and its values of healthcare available to all, free at point of delivery, based on clinical need, not ability to pay. That’s why Nick Clegg has consistently made it crystal clear that we will never privatise the NHS. And why you will never have to pay for your NHS care under our watch.

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Helen Duffett

LibLink | Shirley Williams: After all the arguments, where next for the NHS?

By Helen Duffett | Thu 16th June 2011 - 11:22 am

Shirley Williams writes in the Times today of her strong support for Future Forum’s recommendations for NHS reform, and suggests that listening exercises may be the way forward for future policy-setting:

Like many others, I was sceptical about the listening exercise. It seemed to me a way for the Government to win time so that it could rethink its proposals for NHS reform in the light of great scepticism from medical organisations, distinguished think-tanks, health service managers and staff, and, not least, doctors.

My concerns were not justified. The Future Forum, chaired by Professor Steve Field, himself for many

…

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