Government says that Health and Social Care Bill could not allow Society
to be stripped bare
Reassurance over words in the Health and Social Care Bill that were thought to threaten the leadership role of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, or whatever body supersedes it, has been given by health minister Ben
Bradshaw.
Schedule 8 of the Bill provides for the creation
of a new pharmacy regulator and the transfer to it of “any of the functions” of the Society
(PJ, 24 November 2007, p581).
During the Bill’s committee
stage in the House of Commons, Mr Bradshaw
opposed an amendment drafted by the Society that sought to restrict the
possible transfer to regulatory functions only. He said that he was sympathetic
to the spirit of the amendment, but that it was based on a fundamental
misunderstanding of the schedule.
“There is no possibility of any functions other than regulatory
functions being transferred under the Bill,” he said. He added
that this was because its scope was limited to amending Section 60 of
the Health
Act 1999, which itself was restricted to regulatory matters only.
Mr Bradshaw reminded the committeethat the schedule confirmed that a
S60 Order could not abolish either the Society or the Pharmaceutical
Society of Northern Ireland. After a vote, in which the committee divided
along party lines and the amendment was defeated by 10 votes to seven,
the Society said that the Government had ruled out the transfer of anything
other than regulatory functions.
Society President Hemant Patel said: “The Society
has worked hard to achieve this commitment from the Government. We now
have a clear view
of the Government’s intentions and this will help us in planning
towards a new professional body for pharmacy.”
He added that there
was now clarity that the Society could fully represent membership views
without fear of retribution from any government that did not like what
the Society said on behalf of its members.
Pharmacy contract
monies Parliament
has been told that plans to devolve the global sum for community pharmacy
remuneration in England to primary
care trusts will
not lead to local determination of fees for essential or advanced services.
Pharmacist MP Sandra Gidley proposed an amendment to the Health and Social
Care Bill last week that prompted health minister Ben Bradshaw to assure members
of
the Commons committee that is scrutinising the Bill that fees and allowances
for the national elements of the pharmacy contract would continue to be set
by the Secretary of State for Health. Having received that assurance, Mrs Gidley
withdrew her amendment.
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