NHS bill: Lib Dem peers urge rewrite ahead of Lords debate
NHS bill: Clegg backs changes as Lords debate plans
(about 2 hours later)
Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords are launching a new attempt to rewrite the government's controversial plans for the NHS in England.
Nick Clegg has urged further changes to the coalition's NHS reforms.
The peers have drawn up amendments to the Health and Social Care Bill, which returns to the Lords for debate later.
In a letter co-sign by Lib Dem peer Baroness Williams the deputy prime minister sets out amendments he wants to see which would limit competition and the role of the private sector.
They want to scrap plans to allow the Competition Commission to review the development of competition in the NHS.
If these were agreed, he added, the plans should be "allowed to proceed".
It came as members of the Royal College of Surgeons forced an extraordinary meeting on its support for the bill.
Peers are discussing the proposals on Monday with Labour and many medical groups still calling for the entire legislation to be scrapped.
Thirty one members have asked for the meeting, to be held on 8 March, to consider the college's position. It is the latest of the previously supportive groups to meet to discuss their support or to change their position.
Mr Clegg and Baroness Williams' letter has been sent to all Lib Dem peers and MPs as peers in the House of Lords began a fresh attempt to rewrite the government's Health and Social Care Bill for England.
The Royal College of Physicians - hospital doctors - are holding a meeting later on Monday to decide whether to ballot their members and at the end of last week the Royal College of Paediatrics, who also attended last week's No 10 summit, withdrew their support.
The Lib Dem leader said in his letter that competition and diversity in the NHS must be in the "interests of patients and not profits".
The only royal college which is now not consulting on, or opposed to, the bill is the Royal College of Obstetricians.
"Given how precious the NHS is, we want to rule out beyond doubt any threat of a US-style market in the NHS," he wrote.
"That is why we want to see changes made to this bill that have been put forward by our Liberal Democrat team in the House of Lords to make sure that the NHS can never be treated like the gas, electricity, or water industry."
The Health and Social Care Bill gives GPs control of much of the NHS budget and would open up the health service to greater competition from the private and voluntary sector.
The Health and Social Care Bill gives GPs control of much of the NHS budget and would open up the health service to greater competition from the private and voluntary sector.
The government says its plans will modernise the NHS, improve services and reinvest savings in front-line care.
It has completed its Commons stages but is having a difficult passage through the House of Lords and is being opposed by many groups representing medical professionals.
'Drop the bill'
Liberal Democrat concerns about the government's plans for the NHS in England helped lead to a pause in the health bill's progress, and several amendments.
Last week party president Tim Farron called for the whole section dealing with increased competition to be dropped.
Now, Lib Dem peers also want a requirement put in place for Foundation Trusts to get permission from their governors before carrying out extra private work.
Baroness Jolly, chair of the party's parliamentary health committee, said it was their intention to improve the bill not to delay it or kill it off altogether.
"We are not doing anything sneaky or last-minute," she told Radio Four's World at One. "The government are completely aware of these amendments".
On the issue of competition, she said it could improve patient care in certain areas but would be damaging in others and Lib Dems did not believe the NHS "should be treated like gas, electricity or some other utility".
'Evolution'
Downing Street say that they do not see the need for any "significant changes" but they indicated on Monday they would not seek to overturn amendments which sought to "clarify" aspects of the legislation.
Health minister Simon Burns told the BBC it was right that the Lords had a "full discussion" about the bill but "the government and cabinet as a whole" fully supported it.
"What is being proposed is the best opportunity for the NHS to continue to be able to evolve to meet the challenges of an ageing population, a huge increase in the drugs bill and advances in medical science which means patients are being treated more effectively and those with long-term conditions looked after better," he said.
He added: "Competition in the NHS is not a new thing, it has been going on for a long time. What is important is that it is not competition on price, it is competition on quality."
Writing in the Times, Labour leader Ed Miliband renewed his call for the government to drop a bill which he says would create a "vast structure of Byzantine complexity".
He wrote: "Even at this late stage the government should drop the bill and adopt an approach that will drive the reforms that the NHS really needs."
Labour peers are expected to force two key votes on the health bill in the Lords on Monday - one on the potential conflict of interests between the commissioning boards' financial and medical interests and one on an "integrated" NHS and providing a unified health service.
