Draft Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) Regulations 2022

Oliver Heald Excerpts

Wednesday 26th January 2022 General Committees

[Karin Smyth]

I will just finish the point about our concerns about coroners’ assessments of the conditions in which people are dying early, perhaps because they could not access care. The CQC’s report, which it did manage to do, outlined ongoing concerns.

To be clear, we will support the Government today, but with grave concerns, because the CQC has itself said that it has ongoing concerns about patient safety. In relation to high-risk mental health services, it is concerned that people are at risk where there are warning signs of closed cultures. Improvements in maternity care are far too slow, with staff not having the right skills or knowledge, or poor working relationships. Other concerns include lack of engagement with women in maternity services and limited action being taken to improve equitable access. Its final area of concern is about the really important issue of deprivation of liberty safeguards during 2020-21. Those are really grave concerns about the most vulnerable people in our society. This is important to all our constituents across the country.

I am really concerned that the Government’s proposals to simply extend the 2014 regulations by three years indicates a disregard for the importance of timely reviews. The CQC and providers need clarity, which is why we will support the Government today. This is not a technical a piece of legislation. We are being asked to extend the regulations without any indication of what the review that the Government have undertaken might be saying, and I am disappointed that the Minister did not say more about that in her opening remarks, so I trust that she will do so when she concludes. If not, perhaps she could write to us—I will write to her formally if she is unable to say more today.

We are being asked simply to extend these regulations, which should have been completed by April 2020. Although the pandemic might have had an impact on the review, I would have expected the review to be ready for the printer in March. Certainly, when I conducted reviews of such a serious nature when I worked in the health and care system, I would be expected to have my draft well and truly ready for publication before the final deadline in April. Perhaps the Minister can say why that was not done before.

The Minister did not mention that the consultation received only 32 responses from health and care provider organisations. They are busy and have other things to do. Of those responses, 19 were in favour of the Department’s proposal, and 13 were against. It was noted that the 2014 regulations should not be extended without also making amendments to reflect the changes in the health and care sector since 2014, which are considerable.

When we are reflecting on those changes since 2014, we should bear in mind, for example, the fitness to hold a licence by some providers, particularly in adult health and social care. It is well documented that we are deeply concerned about some of those providers—they are essentially owned and run by hedge funds located in countries far from here, and are not perhaps paying their due level of taxation. If they did, it might provide the social care sector with a bit more stability.

We have had many years of senior Government Ministers talking about patient safety. Hon. Members recently spent six weeks on the Health and Care Bill Committee trying to improve the oversight of the CQC of whole systems and adult social care. None of this is joined up. If we are pushing this down the road for another three years, how does that align with the current legislative programme, legislation in the other place and anticipated legislation in the adult health and social care sector that is due at any moment? We need to line up some of these things, so that we parliamentarians can provide due process and scrutiny. Ultimately—the Minister knows it well—this is about patient safety.

The Government were unprepared going into the pandemic and I am concerned that this legislation is also tardy, and reflects the fact that they are not taking the timeliness of reviews seriously. Perhaps they are distracted by other matters. The Government have had two years to consider the matter. Why are systems not in place to ensure that such legislation is not left to the last minute? I hope the Minister can address my concern about why these measures were not ready in April 2020. It is not the first example. I do not want to detain the Committee, and I might go out of scope, but there are many examples of tardiness in timeliness and appointments and bringing forward regulations; that really does affect people. Members of Parliament across the House are really getting quite fed up of it.

[Sir Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire) (Con)]

Surely the hon. Lady would recognise that we have been through a pandemic that has caused great uncertainty for the social care sector. Is it not more prudent while we are still in the pandemic to extend the regulations rather than changing the whole system overnight?

[Karin Smyth]

The measures were due to come in in April 2020. As I said, if I was writing the review, I would have had it ready at the printer’s in March 2020 as the pandemic started. I do not really understand—I am very happy for the Minister to clarify—why, if it was ready for April 2020, which I suspect it perhaps was not, that it has taken this length of time, and why we need another three years. There are clear concerns in the sector as to why we need three years.

We support these measures today—that is the responsible thing to do, because we cannot have the sector unregulated, but we impress upon the Government the requirement that full regulations and good governance are important. We do not expect matters to be left in such a state.

Can the Minister explain why the review was not completed in April 2020? What stage was it at? How much of it was completed by then? What steps is the Department now taking to make sure that this review is completed in a timely manner? Can she provide information on the conversations the Government have had with the CQC regarding further areas of activity that need to be brought within the scope of the Act? We hear rumours, but we would like some certainty.

The consultation received 32 responses from health and care provider organisations. As I said, 19 were in favour and 13 were against. Does the Minister consider that to be a sufficient level of review and engagement? What steps will she be taking to ensure further stakeholder engagement?