Health and Social Care Bill

The amendment moved by the noble Earl, Lord Howe, aims to limit the amount of regulation imposed on providers of regulated activities by limiting the scope of the regulation-making power under Clause 16. Subsection (1) gives the Secretary of State the power to make regulations under Clause 16. Given the significance of this power, we are, as noble Lords are aware, consulting on the registration requirements. I turn, first, to Amendments Nos. 43 and 45, which would alter the clause to state that regulations may make provision about who is not, rather than who is, fit to carry on or manage a regulated activity or work for the purposes of a regulated activity. Clause 16(1) already enables the Secretary of State to make regulations about any requirements, which could be both positive and negative attributes in relation to regulated activities, and this will ensure that the regulation-making power gives sufficient flexibility for the regulations to impose appropriate requirements. Subsections (2) and (3) of Clause 16 give a more detailed indication of our intentions for regulations under subsection (1), making it clear that we intend these to focus on quality and safety requirements. Regulations may, for example, make provision stating that persons on the protection of vulnerable adults list are not fit to carry on or manage a regulated activity. They may also make provision stating that a person working for a provider of a regulated activity must have appropriate qualifications for that activity. We believe it is vital that we make the regulations, whether positive or negative, as clear as possible so that providers and managers are clear about who is and who is not fit, and that is what the Bill as drafted allows. This is consistent with the wording in the Care Standards Act 2000, under which social care providers and private and voluntary health providers are currently regulated. Amendments Nos. 44 and 46 to 49 probe the meaning of the matters in Clause 16(3). I appreciate the desire to ensure that providers have sufficient freedom to deliver services in a flexible manner and to reduce the burden of regulation. However, it may be worth drawing attention to the fact that subsection (3) sets out our intentions for regulations under Clause 16, rather than being a fixed list of the aspects that will definitely be included. Bearing in mind the remarks of the noble Baroness, Lady Cumberlege, it is not our intention to make regulation very detailed or overprescriptive. As noble Lords know, we are currently consulting on the scope of registration and the proposed topics for the registration requirements. This process will be fundamental in determining which of these aspects are covered in the regulations. That said, I believe that all the aspects set out in this clause could quite properly be included in regulations. I am sure noble Lords agree that it is vital that regulations clearly set out the requirements that providers must meet to deliver safe services of appropriate quality. For example, the clause sets out our intention for regulations to make provision on the manner in which the regulated activity is carried out. Under that provision, we propose a topic of managing medicines safely in our consultation document. One of the aims of the new registration system is to ensure a more proportionate, risk-based approach to regulation. Regulations under Clause 16 are not intended to be overly prescriptive. They will be focused on essential safety and quality issues across health and social care. The regulations will require providers to manage risks to the safety, quality and governance of the care they provide and address the concerns of those who use the services. We do not intend to specify every last detail of how a provider must operate. The commission itself will be responsible for developing the more detailed guidance against which it will check that providers are complying with regulations. Providers themselves must be able to decide how to deliver services to achieve the best outcomes for those who use the services. Given those assurances about our intention in Clause 16, I ask the noble Earl, Lord Howe, to withdraw his amendment.