I am happy to ensure that a note goes to my right hon. Friend and other Members, as he requests.
New clauses 29 and 30 would introduce a power to create new requirements for registration with the CQC, one requiring providers to minimise the risk of harm to patients and service users, and the other requiring providers to inform patients and their representatives where treatment leads to harm, and to prepare a safety management plan. Section 20 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 sets out the areas in which the Government may impose, through regulations, requirements on providers registered with the CQC. It is a broad power and expressly allows regulations for
“securing the health, safety and welfare of persons”
for whom services are provided. This is broad enough to include minimising harm to patients. In addition, it expressly includes a power for the registration requirements to cover
“the manner in which a regulated activity is carried on”,
which would cover a requirement to prepare a safety management plan.
Clause 80 also places a duty on the Government to introduce a new registration requirement of informing patients and service users where there have been failings in their care—the duty of candour. I hope that I have reassured my hon. Friend the Member for Bristol North West that the power already exists to include the proposed areas in the CQC registration requirements.
My Department is consulting on draft regulations to put in place new fundamental standards as requirements for registration with the CQC. These would require providers to take “appropriate steps” to mitigate the risks of service users receiving care that is “inappropriate or unsafe”. We plan to consult shortly on a new duty of candour requirement. We will, of course, develop the final regulations, which will be subject to the affirmative procedure, in the light of the comments received in the planned consultation.
Finally, I support the sentiment behind new clause 27, that providers of care services should be held to account where they allow abuse or neglect, and that there should be serious consequences where this occurs. Under the fundamental standards on which we are consulting at the moment, all providers registered with the CQC must take steps to avoid abuse and neglect, and take action where those occur. Where providers are responsible for abuse, the CQC will be able to prosecute them. In fact, in response to Winterbourne View, I took the view that there was a gap in the regulatory framework, which did not allow for proper corporate accountability. I felt that we had to change the arrangements to ensure that companies, trusts and other providers were held to account where they were responsible for abuse or neglect. We are achieving that objective.
In addition, we have brought forward proposals to respond to the most egregious failures of care. On 27 February, we published our consultation on the detailed proposals for a new criminal offence of ill-treatment or wilful neglect. The Berwick report was clear that this offence should apply to individuals and organisations, whether or not they are registered with the CQC. We agree with that approach, and are consulting on the proposal. The new criminal offence, together with the CQC’s responsibility to respond to poor quality care, is sufficient to ensure that action is taken against unacceptable standards of care, and that there are serious consequences where this occurs.