Statement on NHS reform
5 April 2011
Secretary of State for Health, Andrew Lansley, made a statement to the House of Commons on Monday 4 April on modernisation of the national health service.
Health and Social Care Bill
The Health Secretary announced that there would be a break in the passage of the Health and Social Care Bill.
The Bill has already completed committee stage was due to have report stage and third reading in the House of Commons.
Andrew Lansley told the House of Commons that:
"I can therefore tell the House that we propose to take the opportunity of a natural break in the passage of the Bill to pause, listen and engage with all those who want the NHS to succeed, and subsequently to bring forward amendments to improve the plans further in the normal way."
Shadow Secretary of State for Health, John Healey, responded to the statement on behalf of the Opposition.
Watch and read the statement and the views expressed by MPs on Parliament TV and in Commons Hansard.
- Video and audio: Statement on NHS reform
- Commons Hansard: Statement on NHS reform
- Topics: Health services
Summary of the Bill
The Bill proposes to create an independent NHS Board, promote patient choice, and to reduce NHS administration costs.
Key areas
Measures in the Bill would give consortia of General Practitioners responsibility for commissioning the majority of health services, and create an independent NHS Commissioning Board.
It would abolish Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) and Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs) and transfer local health improvement functions from PCTs to local authorities. It would also give local authorities responsibilities for coordinating the commissioning of local NHS services, social care and health improvement.
The Bill would introduce measures to promote competition between providers of NHS-funded services and would provide for all remaining NHS trusts to become foundation trusts.
Other parts of the Bill deal with the functions of several ‘arm’s length bodies’, and the regulation of health and social care workers. There are also a number of consequential amendments and miscellaneous provisions.
Keep up to date with all the proceedings on the Health and Social Care Bill and find out how a Bill becomes an Act of Parliament.
Health Select Committee Reports
The Commons Health Select Committee published a follow-up report into commissioning of health care in the NHS on Tuesday 5 April 2011.
The Government has responded to the Commons Health Select Committee's first report into commissioning of health care in the NHS.
- Health Committee Report: Commissioning
- Government response to the Health Committee Report: Commissioning (PDF 299KB)
House of Commons Library analysis
The House of Commons Library regularly produce briefing papers which inform MPs about key issues. The Library has produced a Research Paper on the Health and Social Care Bill.