HL Deb 20 March 1997 vol 579 cc1075-6

13 Clause 14, page 7, line 14, leave out subsection (1) and insert—

  1. ("(1) In the case of a pilot scheme entered into, or to be entered into, by a single individual or body corporate, that individual or body may make an application under this section to become a health service body.
  2. (1A) In the case of any other pilot scheme, all of those providing, or proposing to provide, piloted services under the scheme may together make an application under this section to become a single health service body.").

Baroness Cumberlege

My Lords, I beg to move that the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 13 and I shall speak also to Amendments Nos. 14 to 16 and 18. These amendments deal with additional points which concern the way in which NHS contracts will work in pilot schemes. They will ensure that the benefits of NHS contracts can play a full part in the new arrangements.

Amendments Nos. 13 to 16 clarify who may apply to become a health service body for the purpose of piloting. The provisions of Clause 14, to which the amendments relate, will of course be available only to members of the NHS family. Individual GPs or dentists can already apply to become health service bodies under the Bill. These amendments will enable applications to be made by various groupings from within the NHS family—for example, partnerships of GPs—and ensure that such groupings can comprise a single health service body. The amendments also ensure that each time the membership of a health service body changes after it has been granted health service body status (for example, where one partner in a partnership retires) it does not have to re-apply for such status. The provision fits in well with the flexibilities which the Bill aims to achieve.

Finally, Amendment No. 18 removes a power which is already provided elsewhere in the Bill. I commend these amendments to the House.

Moved, That the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 13.—(Baroness Cumberlege.)

Baroness Jay of Paddington

My Lords, perhaps I may ask the Minister a question on the amendments.

We welcome them in general. As she said, they add to the concepts of flexibility within the pilot schemes, in particular extending the role of the NHS family—as I am glad we all now call it.

I cannot recall the number of the amendment withdrawn at Report stage because concern was expressed by Members on these Benches about the expression "body corporate" as regards the number of people who could be involved in contracts. I wish to be absolutely clear. I come back to the points raised earlier on the group of amendments with Amendment No. 2. Does the expression "body corporate" exclude "bodies corporate"? I believe that we would understand the common sense meaning of that term to include commercial organisations.

Baroness Cumberlege

My Lords, I can reassure the noble Baroness. Those who apply for the pilot schemes have to ensure that all the shares are held by members of the NHS family. The noble Baroness can rest assured that this is not a back-door into privatisation or commercialisation. That is not our intention at all. I commend the Motion.

On Question, Motion agreed to.