Health and Social Care Bill

My Lords, I thank the Minister for his very detailed and extensive response, which is genuinely welcome. He has dealt with a number of the issues that were covered in this important debate. The confirmation that Health Education England is to be established as a special health authority and that a senior responsible officer has been appointed to drive forward its development at a pace to ensure that it is in a position to fulfil its important obligations and functions is a very welcome announcement. I think it will provide considerable hope that the question of education and training can be fully and appropriately dealt with in such a way that any future legislation can build upon an established structure that has already given confidence to those responsible for education and training that these matters can be properly dealt with. The noble Earl has also confirmed a number of other important actions that he and his department propose to take as we move forward with this Bill. His confirmation that draft clauses of any future legislation dealing with education and training will be available for pre-legislative scrutiny and that an understanding around those draft clauses will be provided prior to the Report stage is welcome, as is the confirmation that the work of the NHS Future Forum will also be available to inform any potential discussion that we have in this matter on Report. The confirmation that it is envisaged that Health Education England and any local arrangements for education and training boards represent true partnerships—academic service partnerships across the broad discipline, representing elements of the healthcare workforce—is also warmly welcomed. The question of the budget for Health Education England will require further discussion but the confirmation that Health Education England will have responsibility for supervision of the budget for postgraduate education and training is important, as is the recognition that postgraduate deans need to have an ongoing and developing relationship with the universities. I wish to address the implied criticism that it was inappropriate to bring this group of amendments at this stage, the Committee having on its first day considered government Amendment 43. As I said at the outset, Amendment 47A and the others in this group were probing amendments to build upon the welcome comments of the Minister on the first day of Committee when Amendment 43 was moved. The Government’s approach to specifying in the Bill a responsibility for education and training for the Secretary of State for Health was an important announcement. Many noble Lords felt therefore that probing amendments thereafter to explore the opportunity for the establishment of Health Education England in whatever form to relieve anxieties about the situation described by the noble Lord, Lord Owen, was an appropriate amendment to bring at this stage. I am grateful to the Minister for having dealt with these matters with such clarity and in such a way that anxieties around the areas of education and training can now be addressed in a constructive and co-operative fashion with broad support from all parts of your Lordships’ House. This will ensure that this vital function is developed for the benefit of patients who need to use our health services by ensuring that we have the best trained healthcare workforce to deliver the highest standards.