Statement on NHS Future Forum
14 June 2011
Secretary of State for Health, Andrew Lansley, made a statement to the House of Commons on Tuesday 14 June on the NHS Future Forum.
Watch and read the statement on Parliament TV and in Commons Hansard. Also read the Written Ministerial Statement made by the Health Secretary. Shadow Secretary for Health, John Healey, responded to the statement on behalf of the Opposition.
- Parliament TV: Statement on the NHS Future Forum
- Commons Hansard: Statement on the NHS Future Forum
- Commons Hansard: Written Ministerial Statement on NHS Future Forum
NHS Future Forum
The Health Secretary made a statement to the House of Commons on Monday 4 April announcing that there would be a break in the passage of the Health and Social Care Bill. The Bill had received its second reading and had completed its committee stage in the House of Commons.
The Government set up an independent group to review the Health and Social Care Bill. The group was known as the NHS Future Forum and consisted of 45 members. The group reported it findings and recommendations to the Government on Monday 13 June.
The Health Secretary announced changes to the Health and Social Care Bill based on the recommendations from the NHS Future Forum.
- Commons news: Statement on NHS reform (5 April 2011)
- Department of Health: NHS Future Forum (external website)
- Department of Health: NHS Future Forum recommendations to the Government (external website)
Summary of the Health and Social Care Bill
The Bill, as it currently stands, 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 and latest documentation on the Health and Social Care Bill and find out how a Bill becomes an Act of Parliament.
Health Select Committee Reports
The Government has responded to the Commons Health Select Committee's first report into commissioning of health care in the NHS published on 13 January.
- Health Committee Report: Commissioning
- Government response to the Health Committee Report: Commissioning (PDF 299KB)
The Commons Health Select Committee published a follow-up report into commissioning of health care in the NHS on Tuesday 5 April 2011.
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 for second reading and a paper for report stage.