Care Bill published

Published on Friday 10 May, the Care Bill introduces legislation to provide protection and support to the people who need it most and to take forward elements of the government’s initial response to the Francis Inquiry.

The Care Bill, which can be viewed at www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/lbill/2013-2014/0001/lbill_2013-20140001_en_2.htm#pt1-pb1-l1g3, will give people peace of mind that they will be treated with compassion when in hospital, care homes or their own home.

The Bill is split into three parts:

• Reform of care and support - The Bill brings together existing care and support legislation into a new, modern set of laws and builds the system around people’s wellbeing, needs and goals. It sets out new rights for carers, emphasises the need to prevent and reduce care and support needs, and introduces a national eligibility threshold for care and support. It also introduces a cap on the costs that people will have to pay for care and sets out a universal deferred payment scheme so that people will not have to sell their home in their lifetime to pay for residential care.
• Response to the Francis Inquiry on failings at Mid-Staffordshire Hospital - The Report of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry led by Robert Francis QC, identified failures across the health and care system that must never happen again. The Care Bill helps deliver the Government’s commitment to ensure patients are the first and foremost consideration of the system and everyone who works in it. It sets out Ofsted-style ratings for hospitals and care homes so that patients and the public can compare organisations or services in a fair and balanced way and make informed choices about where to go. It will also enable the new Chief Inspector of Hospitals, appointed by the Care Quality Commission, to trigger a process to deal with unresolved problems with the quality of care more effectively, and will also make it a criminal offence for health and care providers to supply or publish false or misleading information.
• Health Education England and the Health Research Authority - The Bill establishes Health Education England and the Health Research Authority as statutory non-departmental public bodies, giving them the impartiality and stability they need to carry out their roles in improving education and training for healthcare professionals, and protecting the interests of people in health and social care research.

The Bill will bring about many of the improvements to the care system described in the government’s Caring For Our Future White Paper published last year and is being introduced following extensive consultation with people and organisations right across health and care – from users of services to providers of care.

To download the Care Bill Explained, which describes the changes that have been made in response to the public consultation and the recommendations of the Joint Committee that carried out pre-legislative scrutiny on the Draft Care and Support Bill, visit www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/cm86/8627/8627.asp.

To download fact sheets on the Care Bill visit www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-care-bill-factsheets.

For information on the parliamentary process following the publication of the Care Bill and its accompanying impact assessments visit http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2013-14/care.html and www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-government-published-a-series-of-impact-assessments-alongside-the-care-bill.