About the Bill

The Health and Social Care Bill was introduced to Parliament on 19th January 2011.

Summary of the Bill

The Bill (as introduced) proposes to create an independent NHS Board, promote patient choice, and to reduce NHS administration costs.

Measures in the Bill would give consortia of General Practitioners responsibility for commissioning the majority of health services, and create an independent NHS Commissioning Board.

It would abolish Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) and Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs) and transfer local health improvement functions from PCTs to local authorities. It would also give local authorities responsibilities for coordinating the commissioning of local NHS services, social care and health improvement.

The Bill would introduce measures to promote competition between providers of NHS-funded services and would provide for all remaining NHS trusts to become foundation trusts.

Other parts of the Bill deal with the functions of several ‘arm’s length bodies’, and the regulation of health and social care workers. There are also a number of consequential amendments and miscellaneous provisions.

Amendments have been made to the Health and Social Care Bill to reflect changes made to the Bill during its passage through Parliament. To view each version of the Bill, please use the links below.