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NHS bill: Nick Clegg outlines changes aimed at Lib Dems | |
(40 minutes later) | |
Nick Clegg has set out changes to the NHS reforms which he says should mean the bill can be passed into law. | |
In a letter co-signed 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. | In a letter co-signed 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. |
If these were agreed, he says, the plans should be "allowed to proceed". | |
Downing Street said they were "not significant amendments - they are areas where reassurance is required". | |
The letter has been sent to all Lib Dem peers and MPs as the House of Lords debated a fresh series of amendments to the government's Health and Social Care Bill for England. | |
The Lib Dem leader and Baroness Williams - a key figure in Lib Dem efforts to reshape the NHS reforms - said competition and diversity in the NHS must be in the "interests of patients and not profits". | |
"Given how precious the NHS is, we want to rule out beyond doubt any threat of a US-style market in the NHS," they 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." | "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." |
Mr Clegg said he supported five "final" changes to the bill which aims to give 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 changes suggested are: | |
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Liberal Democrat concerns about the government's plans helped lead to a pause in the health bill's progress last year and many amendments. | Liberal Democrat concerns about the government's plans helped lead to a pause in the health bill's progress last year and many amendments. |
Mr Clegg said Lib Dem activists had begun the process of altering the bill when raising objections at their 2011 Spring conference, adding that "once these final changes have been agreed, we believe conference can be reassured that it has finished the job it started last March and the bill should be allowed to proceed". | |
The Lib Dem leader told the BBC he wanted to make it "crystal clear that competition is the servant of the NHS, never its master". He said he had discussed his letter with the prime minister before sending it and was confident that the suggested changes would now get through the Lords and the Commons. | |
Conservative MP Stephen Dorrell, chair of the Commons health select committee, said the proposals were "uncontroversial" and had been "part of the policy mix" for some time, suggesting they were a "response" to internal Lib Dem concerns. | |
Downing Street said the prime minister did not think the bill needed further amendments, but they were happy to provide "reassurance and clarity" on the issues. | |
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. | 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. | "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. |
Labour peers were 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. | |
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". | 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." | 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." |
Meanwhile more of the medical Royal Colleges have been reassessing their position. | |
The Royal College of Physicians - hospital doctors - met on Monday afternoon and has agreed to survey its membership about the bill. | |
Last week the Royal College of Paediatrics, which also attended last week's No 10 summit, withdrew its support. | |
The Royal College of Surgeons and the Royal College of Obstetricians are both now due to hold extraordinary meetings next month to consider their position on the bill. | The Royal College of Surgeons and the Royal College of Obstetricians are both now due to hold extraordinary meetings next month to consider their position on the bill. |