The Bill takes forward the Equity and excellence: liberating the NHS white paper (July 2010) and the Government's own response to the white paper consultation in December 2010.
Key extracts of the Bill for employers
At 367 pages, the Health and Social Care Bill is among the biggest pieces of health legislation ever published.
We have scrutinised the Bill on employers' behalf and the key sections for employers to note are:
- Part 1 - The Health Service in England
- Part 3 - Economic regulation of health and adult social care services
- Part 4 - NHS foundation trusts and NHS trusts
- Part 5 - Public involvement and local government
- Part 7 - Regulation of health and social care workers
- Part 8 - The National Institute for health and care excellence
- Part 10 - Abolition of certain public bodies etc
- Part 11 - Miscellaneous
- Schedules.
Read our key extracts summary for more detail, prepared ahead of the House of Commons second reading debate on 31 January 2011.
Parliamentary stages
The Health and Social Care Bill, one of the largest ever bills to be introduced, will go through various stages as it progresses through both houses of Parliament and becomes an Act.
See below an outline of what will happen at each stage.
The Commons
First reading - initial stage where the title of the Bill is read out and an order for the Bill to be printed is made. No debate at this stage.
Second reading debate - first major debate on the general principles and themes of the Bill. The debate took place on 31 January 2011.
Committee stage - line by line examination of the Bill takes place, usually a few weeks after the second reading. Committee stage began on 8 February 2011 and completed on 31 March 2011.
Visit the NHS Confederation website to see who the Committee members are and information about the NHS Confederation's evidence.
The legislation was 'paused' in April 2011 and the Government established the NHS Future Forum to listen to concerns about the draft legislation. Read more about the forum's recommendations, published on 13 June.
The Committee stage was repeated between 28 June and 14 July and the Government’s changes to the Bill were scrutinised one by one.
Report stage - the Bill was sent back to the floor of the House of Commons for MPs to debate any amendments, propose new ones and vote.
Third reading - next item of business after report stage. Debate at this stage is limited to what is in the Bill and no further amendments can be proposed. This stage took place on 6 and 7 September, culminating in MPs voting the Bill through to the House of Lords.
The Lords
The passage of the Bill through the Lords is very similar to its passage through the Commons with some subtle differences:
- The first reading is the full title of the Bill which includes its content.
- Before the second reading any interested member who wants to speak adds their name to a list.
- Any peer can propose amendments, speak and vote at Committee stage – so this stage is less predictable than in the Commons. Around 100 peers debated the Bill in a second reading debate on 11 and 12 October.
- The day before the committee starts a list of amendments are published in a ‘Marshalled List’ but amendments can still be tabled after its publication. Committee stage began on 25 October.
- At least three sitting days exist between the report stage and the third reading.
- Amendments can also be made at the third reading.
After the Lords agree on the Bill, it is sent back to the Commons for MPs to debate the amendments proposed by the Lords. Both houses need to agree on the exact wording of the Bill and this can often result in a so-called ‘ping pong’ process between the two houses.
Royal Assent
Once it has been cleared by both houses, the Bill receives Royal Assent and it becomes an Act of Parliament (although it can also include lines specifying different dates when specific provisions come into force and will give the Secretary of State powers to add more detail on specific issues later on as secondary legislation).