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Health and Social Care Bill

I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time. I would like to begin by thanking hon. Members for their contributions in scrutinising and improving this Bill both in Committee and on the Floor of the House today. I think that the Bill benefited from the evidence-giving process—a young but positive reform of the procedures of this House. We are not here discussing one of the more controversial or hotly politically contested Bills. In fact, our deliberations have shown a broad consensus of support for the main provisions of the Bill—the integration of the way we regulate health, including mental health and social care, and the modernisation of the way we regulate the medical professions. Central to this Bill is the aim of assuring safety and quality of care for all patients and service users. The establishment of a new independent, integrated regulator with enhanced powers to succeed the three existing bodies—the new Care Quality Commission—is both timely and right. Patients and service users expect a comprehensive and seamless system of regulation that focuses on the quality and safety of services, rather than their setting. The Care Quality Commission will bring several improvements. First, it will bring a joined-up system of regulation for health and adult social care, and I emphasise the importance that we expect the new regulator to place on both areas. That joined-up approach has been welcomed by both sides of the House. Secondly, it will extend regulation to the provision of NHS services for the first time ever. Thirdly, the set of new enforcement and sanction powers, which were again broadly welcomed from both sides of the House, will enable the new commission to deal with unsafe practices, such as poor standards of cleanliness and hygiene. Finally, the commission will allow a flexible and proportionate approach to regulation. The Mental Health Act Commission's existing functions will be set, with some enhancement of the core of the new regulator's work. All hon. Members who have spoken have stressed the importance of the regulator's freedom to carry out its functions in the way that it sees fit, through arrangements that encourage its independence. During our discussions on the Care Quality Commission we listened to the views expressed by Members on both sides of the House and, as we discussed earlier, we made a number of changes. We have clarified that the Care Quality Commission must have regard to those who represent the views of the public. We also listened to the points raised by the hon. Member for Romsey (Sandra Gidley), among others, about the need for the commission to publish its reports. That has always been the Government's intention, but we are happy to have put that beyond doubt by clarifying it further on the face of the Bill. As I mentioned earlier, we also intend to address the issue of the application of the Human Rights Act 1998 to health and social care when the Bill reaches the other place. On the regulation of health and social care professions, we have also listened carefully to the representations made, not least to those made by Lady Justice Smith, whose original reports on the Shipman murders helped to inform many of the changes that the Bill will bring about. We have tabled and agreed an amendment just now on the issue of legally qualified chairs for hearings of the new independent adjudicator. Of course, we fully scrutinised the parts of the Bill that we have not discussed today in Committee, including the health protection elements and the health in pregnancy grant. I am sure that those issues will be scrutinised carefully in another place. By reforming health and social care regulation, and by introducing tough new sanctions as well as reforming professional regulation, the Bill puts safety and quality at the heart of the health and social care system. I commend it to the House.