NHS Reform

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Monday 4th April 2011 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Masham of Ilton]

My Lords—

[Baroness Northover]

My Lords, I think that we have time for both speakers. It is time to hear from the Labour Party and then the Cross Benches.

[Lord Beecham]

My Lords, months after the Bill was launched upon an unsuspecting world—including, apparently, the Prime Minister—it seems to have been admitted to the fracture clinic if not to the intensive care ward. A number of questions arise from the Statement itself. For example, the Statement says:

“Some services, like A&E or major trauma, clearly will never be based on competition”.

Is not the implication that other services will be based on competition? Will the Minister comment on the predominant role of Monitor as a promoter of competition, as opposed to being simply an economic regulator?

On the GP commissioning groups or consortia, will the Government look again at the composition of those groups as well as their degree of local accountability? Will he also look at the powers of the health and well-being boards? Does he have any views about those in addition to the question of their composition?

As for the NHS being in a healthy financial position, does the Minister have any comment on tonight’s story in the Evening Standard about people who were made redundant last Friday having to be re-engaged by PCTs and other organisations, at considerable cost to the NHS?