Health Bill [HL]

My Lords, Amendment 15 seeks to enable health trusts to develop private health services outside the private patient cap on condition that they are, in all the circumstances, in the interests of the National Health Service. I must declare an interest as the chair of a mental health foundation trust in east London and I make it clear that my own trust will not plan any changes in its own practice whether or not this amendment becomes law. The new clause leaves the private patient cap in place, although I believe that as soon as possible it needs to be replaced by a new framework. As we debated in Committee and on Report, the cap varies from one trust to another. I shall not repeat our earlier debates; suffice it to say that the cap is well recognised to be illogical and unhelpful. By providing for exceptions, the amendment opens up an opportunity for rational decision-making as long as the interests of the NHS are served. Introducing that one principle into the Bill is something to which all sides of the House would subscribe. I hope that proposed new subsection (4B) in the amendment will enable Ministers to introduce regulations which will extend important principles to all private patient service developments, and not only to services developed over and above the level allowed by the cap. Examples would include the principle that private patient services will not be subsidised by the NHS and the principle that those services will not dilute or adversely affect the core values of the NHS. In my view, both are crucial principles but they are absent from the 2006 Act. A further powerful argument in favour of the amendment is that it will enable the NHS to benefit from the considerable export opportunities provided by our highly respected NHS clinicians. We can ill afford to squander that opportunity. The amendment would protect the NHS, while increasing flexibility. I beg to move.