Lords debates NHS overseas visitors regulations
16 November 2017 (updated on 16 November 2017)
Members of the House of Lords will discuss the government's introduction of NHS regulations on Thursday 16 November.
- Watch live on Parliament TV
- Read the Lords Hansard transcript from three hours after the debate
- What is a secondary instrument?
- What is a parliamentary motion?
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour) will propose a motion to regret that the government does not clarify:
- how upfront charging can work without increasing barriers to healthcare for vulnerable groups
- how they will not breach equality legislation through the potential use of racial profiling as a means to identify chargeable patients
- how the extension of charging to community services will not lead to patients being prevented from accessing preventative care programmes
His motion also regrets that the regulations were introduced without sufficient assessment of the effectiveness and value for money of the bureaucratic process proposed.
If agreed, this motion will not stop the regulations, which came into force in November 2017, but will provide an opportunity for the House to put on record its regret that the government does not provide clarity on the points above.
How do these regulations become law?
These regulations were subject to the negative procedure, meaning they would not normally be debated unless a member objects. These regulations were laid on 19 July 2017, and their provisions came into force on 21 August and 23 October 2017.
Further information
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Image: House of Lords 2017 / Photography by Roger Harris