Government’s NHS rewrite does NOT save the “duty to provide”
The Government has today marked the end of the “listening period” on NHS reforms by agreeing to recommendations published yesterday by its panel of experts, the Future Forum.
But according to another legal update from public interest lawyer Peter Roderick, today’s announcement by the Government still does not ensure that a duty to provide medical services will remain in the Act of Parliament that forms the legal basis for the NHS. This duty has been in force since 1946.
Download the latest legal update (pdf) from Peter Roderick. (Or download as a Word document)
The Government’s proposed changes to the NHS will be put before Parliament as the Health and Social Care Bill. And it is this Bill that will now be redrafted following the end of the “listening period” and today’s announcement.
It appears that even now the new Bill will continue to propose abolition of the Secretary of State’s duty to provide health services such as ambulances, hospitals and maternity services, and will not propose to give this duty to any other body.
Today’s announcement by the Government does mention the possibility of a “duty to secure the provision of services” rather than a “duty to provide” but the wording around this is ambiguous. So although we know the “duty to provide” would be abolished if the Bill goes through, we don’t yet know if there will be a “duty to secure provision” proposed to replace it. And we won’t know this until the new wording of the Bill is published.
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