House of Lords second reading of health and care bill

The health and care bill is a vitally important piece of legislation which will give statutory footing to integrated models of care in the NHS.

We are calling on all members of the House of Lords to support the bill at Second Reading, as it is vital that the bill is approved before April 2022 to enable integrated care systems (ICSs) to operate safely and efficiently according to statute.

We do not believe the legislation on its own solves all issues in the health and care system, such as the elective backlog, long-term funding for social care, and tackling health inequalities. However, it will ensure the NHS has the framework in place to help tackle these challenges.

The primary concern of our members relating to the bill, as outlined in our briefing, is the introduction of unchecked new powers that would allow the Secretary of State to intervene in local service reconfigurations, despite there already being an established process in place for deciding on reconfigurations. Health leaders are concerned that if these powers remain in the bill in their current form, they will undermine progress towards integration, transparency, patient safety and quality of care.