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Health and Social Care Bill

I am grateful for the noble Baroness’s clarification of the amendment. We have also sought to ensure that the commission is required to approach its task as openly and transparently as possible. The Bill already requires the commission to consult and to provide information on how it will approach particular functions, including guidance on how it will determine compliance with registration requirements; a code of practice on how it will handle confidential information; its plans for charging fees; its plans for carrying out special reviews, other studies and research; and guidance on how it will approach using its enforcement powers. In addition, the commission will be required to make available on the register information, reports of any inspections that it carries out for registration purposes, and details of what enforcement action it has taken. There is therefore already ample provision for patients, service users and carers to access information on the commission’s key functions and to influence them.