This House of Lords Library briefing provides information in support of the House of Lords consideration of the Regulation of Health and Social Care Professions Etc Bill [HL] 2016-17 on 3 February 2017.
Regulation of Health and Social Care Professions Etc Bill [HL]: Briefing for Lords Stages (133 KB , PDF)
The Regulation of Health and Social Care Professions Etc Bill [HL] is a private member’s bill introduced by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour). The Bill received its first reading in the House of Lords on 26 May 2016, and is scheduled to have its second reading on 3 February 2017. The Bill would require the Government to bring forward legislation giving effect to the recommendations of the Law Commission, Scottish Law Commission and Northern Ireland Law Commission in their report Regulation of Health Care Professionals: Regulation of Social Care Professionals in England, April 2014, Cm 8839. The report included a draft bill to reform the legal framework around the regulation of health care professionals. The legislation would have to be introduced within three months of the day on which the Act is passed. Clause 1(2) of the Bill would require the Secretary of State to confirm that in their view the introduced bill is substantially based on the draft bill prepared by the Law Commissions. Lord Hunt introduced a bill of the same name in the 2015–16 session.
Regulation of Health and Social Care Professions Etc Bill [HL]: Briefing for Lords Stages (133 KB , PDF)
The government recently announced an independent review of physician and anaesthesia associates to be led by Professor Gillian Leng. This announcement followed a debate about the use of the roles in the NHS and concerns raised by some stakeholders about patient safety. The review has been widely welcomed by stakeholders as a way to move the debate forward.
Fracture liaison services proactively identify people at risk of fractures caused by osteoporosis. Patients can then be assessed and treated to prevent future fractures. The provision of fracture liaison services in England has been called a ‘postcode lottery’ by the Royal Osteoporosis Society, and evidence shows variation in quality and reach. The government has committed to 100% coverage by 2030.
The Mental Health Bill [HL] is a government bill that would amend the Mental Health Act 1983. The 1983 act is the current legislation that regulates the compulsory detention and treatment of those with a mental disorder in England and Wales. There have long been calls to update the legislation, and in 2017 there was an independent review of the Mental Health Act. In 2022 the previous Conservative government published a draft Mental Health Bill. The current bill is similar (but not identical) to the draft bill and it would implement many of the recommendations of the 2017 independent review. Changes proposed in the bill include tightening the detention criteria in the 1983 act and providing for more frequents reviews; limiting the period that people with autism or a learning disability can be detained; and removing prisons and police stations as “places of safety” in the act. This briefing provides a summary of the background to the bill, the bill’s provisions, and the differences from the 2022 draft bill.
![Mental Health Bill [HL]: HL Bill 47 of 2024–25](https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/content/uploads/sites/2/2020/09/Health-568x426.png)