My Lords, I will start with a question from the noble Lord, Lord Coaker. I will probably not answer it in a way he understands, but I will give it a go and we will probably have more discussions on this as we go forwards.
The services currently identified via these CPV codes, as the noble Lord talked about, are outside the scope of the GPA, albeit within scope of some national treatment provisions in certain international agreements. As such, these could arguably be subject to even less regulation, but we think we have the balance right to ensure competition where possible, value for money, and appropriate transparency and fairness. That is the background to this. The Green Paper proposed removing the separate light-touch provision entirely, but it was clear that this was a popular concept, recognising that these types of services warrant special treatment with a light touch. If they were subject to the full regime, we would be adopting a more stringent approach than that taken by any other European country. That is why we have put them in, and we think that is correct. I am sure we will have more discussions on that.
Before we turn to the amendments, because they were slightly separate, I will answer the questions of the noble Baroness, Lady Brinton, and the noble Lord, Lord Wallace, on how this Bill interacts with the Health and Care Act. At Second Reading, concern was raised regarding the interaction between the Health and Care Act 2022 and the Procurement Bill. I hope that my noble friend’s letter of 8 June allays these concerns. To confirm, the intention is that the provisions in the Procurement Bill will be disapplied for a tightly defined subset of healthcare services that will instead fall within the provider selection regime. The provider selection regime has bespoke rules which commissioners of healthcare services in the NHS and local government will follow when procuring healthcare services in their area, and only where delivered directly to patients and service users.
The scope of the provider selection regime will be supported by reference to the common procurement vocabulary—CPV—codes, which will help procurement personnel to determine which regime applies. As the provider selection regime will sit alongside the reforms introduced by the Procurement Bill, DHSC and the Cabinet Office are working together to ensure that the two regimes remain clear and coherent. The Procurement Bill, and therefore the light-touch contract provisions, will continue to apply to healthcare or health-adjacent services that are not delivered to patients but support the infrastructure of the NHS. Light-touch contracts will also continue to include all services procured by authorities other than NHS bodies and local authorities. I hope that helps.
There was another question from the noble Baroness, Lady Brinton, about how the PSR interacts with the new reforms in the Procurement Bill. The PSR will cover the procurement of healthcare services that are delivered to patients and service users, as I have said, and only when they are arranged by relevant healthcare authorities, including NHS bodies and local authorities. The Procurement Bill will not apply to these but will cover all other goods and services.
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We recognise the need for the integration of healthcare commissioning across local authorities and the NHS. DHSC and Cabinet Office are working together to ensure that the two regimes remain clear and coherent. This includes healthcare or health-adjacent services that are not delivered to patients but help support the infrastructure of the NHS and, as such, are outside of the scope of the PSR. It also includes all services when procured by authorities other than NHS bodies and local authorities. I hope that makes it clearer for the noble Baroness, Lady Brinton. We understand this and are working to make sure that the two regimes work together.
I turn now to the amendments in this group, beginning with government Amendment 32 in the name of my noble friend the Minister. This is put forward simply to insert “appropriate” before “authority”, to make it clear that the body taking into account the matters in Clause 8(4) is the appropriate authority—that is, the body making the regulations under Clause 8(2) and not any other type of authority.
Amendment 30, tabled by my noble friend Lady Noakes, proposes narrowing the scope of light-touch contracts to cover only health or social care services supplied for the benefit of individuals. In our opinion, this would not be desirable as the broader range of services can and should benefit from the light-touch provision, where they are subject to fewer obligations in free trade agreements—for example, catering and canteen services and possibly some prison-related services. We would not want to adopt a more stringent approach than that taken in other countries in Europe.