My Lords, I will deal briefly with two of the amendments in this group. I will deal first with Amendment 11, which was tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Hunt. The explanation for this provision in the Bill is essentially that it is a safety net to enable an extension of HEE’s activities in future, and to ensure that this has the Secretary of State’s prior consent. HEE can carry out other activities relating to the education and training of healthcare workers, or relating to the provision of information and advice on careers in the health service. However, we believe that to avoid undue mission creep it is perhaps advisable for the Secretary of State to be content that Health Education England is branching out in new directions.
Regarding Amendment 32A and the issue of end-of-life care, Health Education England will indeed support NHS England where it can in implementing its end-of-life care strategy, and the way that it shapes and reforms education and training.
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Amendment 24, tabled by the noble Lords, Lord Rix and Lord Touhig, seeks to amend Clause 87 by inserting a new requirement on the Secretary of State to consult on the mandate prior to publication. The Government are absolutely committed to openness and transparency in the way they establish and manage ongoing relationships with arm’s-length bodies. In establishing Health Education England and the local education training boards we have consulted extensively with partners and stakeholders to shape the new system, with a formal public consultation and focused reports produced by the NHS Future Forum, the Health Select Committee and the Joint Committee that scrutinised the draft Bill. As a result, there is widespread support for the creation of Health Education England and a solid platform to build on in shaping the new arrangements. Last Tuesday, the Government published their first mandate for Health Education England. This sets out clear national objectives and priorities for HEE, backed by a £5 billion budget to support investment in education, training and development.
I can reassure noble Lords that the mandate was developed with the input of many partners and stakeholders across the healthcare system, including local employers, trades unions, professional bodies and medical royal colleges, professional regulators and other important bodies in the system such as NHS England and Public Health England.
It is our intention that the mandate for Health Education England will be reviewed regularly to ensure that the objectives are current and meaningful to
the needs of our health and care system. I hope that those, albeit general, remarks will reassure both noble Lords about our commitment to partnership working.