The bruising Parliamentary battle over the Government’s NHS reforms is likely to come to an end today after peers rejected a last-ditch attempt to delay the legislation.
The Health and Social Care Bill will return to the Commons this afternoon with ministers bullish that they will fight off a Labour attempt to delay a final vote until after the confidential risk assessment of the reforms is published.
After the Commons today considers amendments made in the Lords, Royal Assent is likely to follow next week. But even once the Bill becomes law, the battle outside Parliament will continue.
At the weekend, dozens of doctors threatened to stand against Tory and Lib Dem MPs at the next election in protest at the changes, which will hand the bulk of the NHS budget to GP-led groups that will be able to buy services from charities and private companies.
The House of Lords rejected yesterday an amendment put forward by Lord Owen to delay the third reading of the Bill until the Government had published a risk register prepared by officials.
Advertisement
Ministers were orderered by the Information Commissioner to release the document in response to Freedom of Information requests by Labour, and a tribunal upheld that decision on appeal.
Labour has secured an emergency debate on delaying the Commons third reading until after the document is finally published.
Ed Miliband said: “The Government is ramming the NHS Bill through Parliament without proper consideration of what has happened in the Lords and without coming clean about the consequences of the Bill.
“The reason David Cameron and Andrew Lansley are hiding the risk register is because they know what doctors, nurses and others have been warning about is true: this Bill poses great risks to our NHS.”
Andy Burnham, the Shadow Health Secretary, said: “This Government is insulting Parliament by expecting it to support these plans whilst withholding information that could change the way MPs vote.”
Advertisement
Lord Howe, the Health Minister, told peers: “Delay would be wrong and wholly unwarranted. The NHS needs certainty — the certainty of the Bill being on the statute book.”
The Government insists that revealing the register will inhibit civil servants from giving frank advice to ministers. Lord Wilson of Dinton, a former Cabinet secretary, said yesterday that publication of the advice would “do lasting damage to the civil service”.
“This is not about covering up embarrassing material. It is about protecting the rigour with which advice is given as a basis for decision-making,” he said “If advice has to be delivered publicly in a political arena, it will become politicised.”