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Health and Social Care Act 2008

Type of Bill:
Government Bill
Sponsors:
Alan Johnson
Department of Health
Lord Darzi of Denham
Department of Health

Progress of the Bill

Bill started in the House of Commons

  1. House of Commons
    1. 1st reading
    2. 2nd reading
    3. Committee stage
    4. Report stage
    5. 3rd reading
  2. House of Lords
    1. 1st reading
    2. 2nd reading
    3. Committee stage
    4. Report stage
    5. 3rd reading
  3. Consideration of Amendments
  4. Royal Assent

Last event

Act of Parliament

House Act Date
Health and Social Care Act 2008 c.14 - pdf version (PDF, 845KB) 24.07.2008

Summary of the Health and Social Care Act 2008

The Bill seeks to enhance professional regulation and create a new integrated regulator, the Care Quality Commission, for health and adult social care, with focus on providing assurance about the safety and quality of care for patients and service users.

Key areas

  • Assures the safety and quality of care and creates a new regulator, the Care Quality Commission
  • Equips the new regulator with tougher powers, backed by fines, to inspect, investigate and intervene where hospitals are failing to meet hygiene standards
  • Strengthens clinical governance and reforms the system of professional regulation to ensure it earns and sustains the confidence of patients, professionals and Parliament
  • Extends financial support to mothers-to-be from the 29th week of pregnancy
  • Ensures all healthcare professional regulatory bodies use the civil, rather than criminal, standard of proof
  • Creates an independent adjudicator to undertake independent and objective formal adjudication for the professional regulatory bodies
  • Ensures that all healthcare organisations employing or contracting with doctors appoint a 'responsible officer' to work with the GMC to identify and handle cases of poor professional performance by doctors
  • Updates the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 with the aim of providing a more effective and proportionate response to infectious disease.

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