Health and Social Care Bill: A briefing

The Health and Social Care Bill turns into law the major reforms promised in the NHS White Paper: Equity and excellence: Liberating the NHS. This briefing highlights key aspects of the legislation that we believe merit greater scrutiny.

Our briefing focuses on the major pillars of reform enshrined in the Bill. Among the questions we urge MPs to consider are:

• The methods by which the readiness of GP consortia to handle commissioning budgets will be established;
• How the quality of patient care and experience will be measured and assured during the process of organisational change and beyond;
• The basis on which Monitor will measure and promote competition in the NHS;
• The degree to which GP consortia will involve and consult local people in relation to commissioning decisions.