HL Deb 17 June 1999 vol 602 cc471-3

72 After Clause 39, insert the following new clause—

("Rectification of transitional arrangements

POWER TO RECTIFY TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS ETC

—(1) The Secretary of State may by order make such provision as he considers appropriate in consequence of the matters mentioned in subsection (2) (the "relevant defects").

  1. (2) Those matters are—
    1. (a) the omission from Part III of Schedule 2 to the Health Authorities Act 1995 (Transitional Provisions; Order 1996 (which determined the relevant Health Authority in relation to any Family Health Services Authority in England whose locality comprised or formed part of the area of more than one Health Authority) of an entry for Bromley Family Health Services Authority,
    2. (b) the inclusion in Part III or IV of Schedule I to that order (which determined the relevant Health Authority in relation to any Family Health Services Authority whose locality comprised or formed part of the area of only one Health Authority) of an entry for any Family Health Services Authority in England or Wales whose locality comprised or formed part of the area of more than one Health Authority (and an entry for which should accordingly have been included in Part III or IV of Schedule 2 to that order),
    3. (c) the omission from column 2 of the entry for any Family Health Services Authority in Part III or IV of Schedule 2 to that order (which together with column 3 of that entry specified the relevant Health Authorities in relation to that Family Health Services Authority) of any Health Authority whose area or any part of whose area forms part of the locality of the Family Health Services Authority and which was not included in column 3 of that entry,

  1. (d) where—
    1. (i) the locality of a Family Health Services Authority and the area of a Health Authority overlap but do not coincide, and
    2. (ii) the Family Health Services Authority had compiled a list of persons residing in its locality,
the treatment, incorrectly. by a Health Authority of a person included in that list as residing. or as not residing, in their area.

  1. (3) Provision that may be made under subsection (1) includes, in particular—
    1. (a) provision amending the Health Authorities Act 1995 (Transitional Provisions) Order 1996,
    2. (b) provision transferring, or adding, the name of any Part II practitioner to any Part II list in which he is (or, at the material time, was) not included because of any of the relevant defects,
    3. (c) provision for treating anything done by or in relation to an acting authority or a person of any description identified by reference to an acting authority as having been done by or in relation to the proper authority or a person of that description identified by reference to the proper authority,
    4. (d) provision for treating anything done by or in relaion to an acting authority or a person of any description identified by reference to an acting authority as having been so done in the exercise by them or him of functions on behalf of the proper authority or a person of that description identified by reference to the proper authority.

  1. (4) Any provision made by an order under this section may be made with effect from any date after 31st March 1996 specified in the order.
  1. (5) Provision contained in an order under this section by virtue of section 55(2) may include provision conferring functions on the Secretary of State.

  1. (6) In subsection (3)(b)—
Part II practitioner" means a person who provides (or, at any time since 31st March 1996, has provided) general medical services, general dental services, general ophthalmic services or pharmaceutical services in accordance with arrangements made or treated as made (or which, but for any of the relevant defects, would have been made or treated as made) under Part II of the 1977 Act, Part II list" means a list kept by a Health Authority under section 29(2)(a), 36(1)(a), 39(a) or 42(2)(a) of that Act (lists of persons providing general medical, general dental, general ophthalmic or pharmaceutical services).

  1. (7) In subsection (3)(c) and (d), in relation to anything done by or in relation to a Health Authority or person identified by reference to a Health Authority—

"acting authority" means the Health Authority by or in relation to whom the thing was done or person was identified because of any of the relevant defects,

"proper authority" means the Health Authority by or in relation to whom the thing should have been done or by reference to whom the person should have been identified.").

Baroness Hayman

My Lords, I beg to move that the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 72. It inserts a clause which allows the Secretary of State to correct deficiencies in an order made in 1996 which made transitional provisions to implement the Health Authorities Act 1995. The 1995 Act abolished family health services authorities and district health authorities and established new successor health authorities.

The deficiencies in the earlier order have the primary effect that no successor health authority was designated to replace Bromley Family Health Services Authority on 1st April 1996. Other deficiencies have meant that in some cases the designation of successor health authorities took no account of various small boundary changes.

It is only a technical oversight which means that Bromley and some other health authorities did not make decisions and payments concerning family health service practitioners in law. However, I should emphasise that patient care has been unaffected and no one will have received money that does not reflect a payment for a service which was provided.

It is not possible to remedy the situation solely by amendments to existing provisions, since that would not provide legal cover for the decisions and payments which have technically been unlawful since 1st April 1996. The clause therefore gives us the power to make a fresh order which will retrospectively amend the deficiencies that have been identified, and thereby validate all the decisions taken and payments made by the "wrong" authority since that date. I commend the amendment to the House.

On Question, Motion agreed to.