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Health and Social Care Bill

Clause 38 deals with what happens when somebody who is registered as a service provider dies. This mirrors a requirement that currently applies under Section 35 of the Care Standards Act 2000. In these situations, it will clearly be important that there is some continuous service provision and, equally, that services are overseen by somebody with the appropriate skills to ensure that safety and quality requirements are adhered to. This will be particularly important where the service provider is also managing the services. The clause therefore allows for regulations to set out the procedure that will apply for notifying the commission of the death of a service provider. This would obviously be a sensitive time for those involved, and it will be important that the commission is notified within a reasonable timescale and that there is clarity about the procedure for doing so. I had some sympathy with the noble Earl when he read out that paragraph because, when I read it, I agreed. However, the lawyers tell that this must be so, and this is how it must be worded. As for the current legislation, Clause 38(1)(a) makes it clear that regulations may provide suitable arrangements for those cases where there is only one person registered as a service provider in respect of a specific regulated activity and that person has died. Amendment No. 67 probes the wording and meaning of this provision. Drawing on the fact that under the Interpretation Act 1978 a ““person”” includes a body of persons corporate and unincorporated—that is, companies and government departments—the amendment seeks to clarify that this provision can, and should only, apply to natural people; in other words, ““a person””. I hope that I can reassure Members of the Committee that the meaning is already clear from the context, and that these provisions, as currently worded, are already well understood by those currently registered with the Healthcare Commission and CSCI under the Care Standards Act. I hope that Members of the Committee will therefore agree that we need not redraft these provisions and that the amendment can safely be withdrawn.