The parliamentary process for the Health and Social Care Bill is reaching its climax. The Government steamrollered its amendments through in Committee during July and will re-present the Bill to the full House of Commons on 6th and 7th September, before it goes to the Lords.
Supporters of 38 degrees have funded a legal opinion on two aspects of the Bill /- the Secretary of State's responsibility, and the competition provisions. You can see the results at http://blog.38degrees.org.uk. "Effectively, the duty to provide a national health service would be lost if the Bill becomes law. It would be replaced by a duty on an unknown number of commissioningconsortia with only a duty to make or arrange provision for that section of the populationfor which it is responsible. Although some people will see this as a good thing, it iseffectively fragmenting a service that currently has the advantage of national oversightand control, and which is politically accountable via the ballot box to the electorate."
On competition the opinion states " It appears however that the government has simply failed to grapple with the front line issues in procurement, has wholly underestimated the increasing rather than diminishing complexity in the area and has had no or perhaps little regard tothe administrative and financial burdens arising from the regime."
An email from Nick Clegg's office to one of our members states "As you know, the Health and Social Care Bill is due to have its report stage and third reading on 6th and 7th September 2011. At this point the Liberal Democrats will continue to look to protect an NHS that is universal, based on need and free at the point of use. This is a clear priority for the party and a clear priority for Nick."
Lib Dem MPs should be told that the removal of the Secretary of State's duty to provide a comprehensive health service means that the service can no longer be universal and therefore the Bill should be voted down.
JOIN THE MARCH ON 3rd Sept and the vigil on the 6th Sept. Lobby your MPs especially if they are Lib Dems.
We are a grassroots movement comprising people from all walks of life who are, or will be affected by the government’s austerity measures and spending cuts to NHS Services across England. We also strongly oppose the creeping privatisation of the NHS by successive governments. Privatisation = Profit not Good Patient Care