The Secretary of State for Health (Mr Jeremy Hunt)
To accompany the Care Bill, which was introduced yesterday, I am today laying before Parliament “The Care Bill Explained—including a response to consultation and pre-legislative scrutiny on the Draft Care and Support Bill” (Cm 8627).
This document describes the measures in the Care Bill. It explains the importance of reforming care and support legislation, of taking steps to drive up the quality of care following the findings of Robert Francis’s inquiry into the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, and of establishing Health Education England and the Health Research Authority as non-departmental public bodies.
Parts 1 and 3 of the Care Bill build on the provisions in the draft Care and Support Bill, which was published in July 2012. “The Care Bill Explained” sets out the changes that have been made to those provisions. It is the Government’s response to the public consultation and to the report of the Joint Committee on the Draft Care and Support Bill.
The Government are grateful to the Joint Committee for its careful scrutiny, and to everyone who expressed their views during the consultation. The feedback we received has considerably improved the final provisions in this critical and historic piece of legislation.