Health Management and Policy Alert

Health and care bill: report stage

NHS Confederation - 

The NHS Confederation is concerned that unchecked powers for the Secretary of State risk undermining progress towards integration, transparency, patient safety and quality of care.

• Briefing
• More detail

Health and Care Bill: House of Commons report stage and third reading

The King's Fund - 

The Health and Care Bill introduces new measures to promote and enable collaboration in health and care, building on earlier recommendations made by NHS England and NHS Improvement in 2019. The Bill also contains new powers for the Secretary of State to intervene in the health and care system, and targeted changes to public health, social care, and the oversight of quality and safety. This briefing focuses on Parts 1, 2, and 3 of the Bill, which deal with the NHS and its relationships to other parts of the system, including the powers of the Secretary of State, plus proposed changes to information sharing across the health and care system.

• Briefing

Strengthening workforce planning in the Health and Care Bill

Royal Colleges of Physicians (RCP) - 

The RCP is one of over 60 organisations (including The King's Fund) supporting an amendment to the Health and Care Bill tabled by former health secretary Jeremy Hunt MP to strengthen workforce planning. Ahead of Report Stage of the Health and Care Bill on 22 November 2021, Jeremy Hunt has tabled an amendment to Clause 34 of the Health and Care Bill that would require the secretary of state to publish independently verified assessments of current and future workforce numbers every two years consistent with Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) long-term fiscal projections. This briefing explains the amendment.

• Briefing
• More detail
• Health and Care Bill

Health and Care Bill: combined impact assessments

Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) - 
The Health and Care Bill was introduced to Parliament on 6 July 2021 and the legislation aims to build on work to make the health and care system more integrated and accountable. This collection of documents examines the costs, benefits, risks and mitigations of the proposed changes. 

• Impact assessments

Build back better: our plan for health and social care

HM Government -

This paper sets out the government’s new plan for health and social care. It provides an overview of how this plan will tackle the electives backlog in the NHS and put the NHS on a sustainable footing. It sets out details of the plan for adult social care in England, including a cap on social care costs and how financial assistance will work for those without substantial assets. It covers wider support that the government will provide for the social care system, and how the government will improve the integration of health and social care. It explains the government’s plan to introduce a new Health and Social Care Levy.

• Command paper
• Press release
• The King's Fund's response

The Department of Health and Social Care’s white paper Integration and Innovation: an evidence submission by the National Audit Office to the Health and Social Care Committee Inquiry – March 2021

National Audit Office - 

The House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee carried out an inquiry into the proposals set out in the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) white paper, Integration and innovation: working together to improve health and social care for all. This evidence submission highlights the main risks and opportunities the NAO sees in the white paper. Five areas are identified it believes the DHSC and the NHS must pay particular attention: achieving integration at the local level; financial sustainability; wider system reform; securing change in adult social care; and national-level governance.

• Briefing
• More detail

 

Reforming the Mental Health Act: government response to consultation

Department of Health and Social Care - 

The government hosted a public consultation from 13 January 2021 to 21 April 2021 on a set of proposals to reform the Mental Health Act. They received over 1,700 responses. This report is the government’s formal response to this consultation. Further details on the impact of costs and benefits can be found in an accompanying impact assessment.

• Government response
• More detail

The Health and Care Bill 2021-22 [Bill 140 of 2021-22]

House of Commons Library - 

The Health and Care Bill 2021-22 [Bill 140 of 2021-22] was introduced in the House of Commons on 6 July 2021. The second reading is scheduled for Wednesday 14 July 2021. This paper explains the bill's provisions and includes comment and reactions.

• Briefing
• More detail

The Health and Care Bill: a threat to the operational independence of the NHS?

The King's Fund - 

Nicholas Timmins outlines why greater ministerial powers over the day-to-day running of the NHS proposed in the Health and Care Bill might not work for the service or for ministers.

• Blog

The health and social care white paper explained

The King's Fund - 

This long read describes the main proposals of the Department of Health and Social Care's white paper 'Integration and innovation: working together to improve health and social care for all' published on 11 February 2021. It also sets out The King's Fund's initial assessment of the proposals and their implications for the health and care system.

• Read it now