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Health and Social Care Bill

As I was saying, amendment No. 2 introduces a new main objective for the commission. We have been clear throughout that the commission's main priority should be the safety and quality of services, and I said early on that I thought that its key functions and responsibilities were already set out in what was clause 2. However, we recognise that many people thought that this was not expressed clearly enough. The amendment introduces a clear, succinct statement of purpose, which resists the temptation to stray into other territory and create for the commission additional broad functions that it would have been unclear how it was to deliver, or to include a long list of objectives that could duplicate the functions of other statutory bodies. Instead, it emphasises that the welfare of patients and people who use social services should be at the heart of everything that the commission does. Amendment No. 3 amends the matters to which the commission must have regard and sets those out in a separate clause. We were initially cautious about creating too many general requirements in these areas that risked diluting the commission's priorities. However, we have been persuaded on two particular fronts to make changes that, through their careful construction, address key concerns about the regulator's focus on people who use services, but still preserve the right balance. Those are the reference to Local Involvement Networks—or LINks—which relates to amendment No. 72 in the next group, and the expansion of the responsibility to promote and protect people's rights. Another key issue in both Houses has been the desire to secure patient and user engagement in the commission's work. We set out from the outset to create a body with a strong user focus, just as the existing bodies have. I have put on record my expectation that the commission will not only work closely with LINks but will find ways to engage with people who use services on a broader basis. Through Lords amendments Nos. 4, 24 and 25, we have responded to requests for this expectation to be set out explicitly in the Bill. Amendments Nos. 24 and 25 make it explicit that the commission must demonstrate to Parliament, as part of its annual reporting, how it is delivering against its statement on engagement. Amendment No. 66 also responds to one of the key themes of the debates—the importance of ensuring that social care and the commission's responsibilities under the Mental Health Act 1983 are not neglected. We have given assurances in both Houses that that would not be the case, but various amendments were proposed to try to guarantee it by legislative means. In amendment No. 66 we have arrived at a solution that provides the reassurance that some people have been looking for without tying the commission's hands. It will include a broad requirement for the board to include members with expertise relating to all three areas covered by the existing bodies: social care, monitoring the use of powers under the 1983 Act, and health care. We believe that the amendments improve on what was already in the Bill to make much clearer what is expected of the commission, without telling it how it should approach its task, and I commend them to the House.