Health and Social Care Bill — Clause 168 — Private Patient Income Cap — 6 Sep 2011 at 22:00

The majority of MPs voted to remove the restriction on the amount of income a foundation trust can earn from private charges, otherwise known as the "private patient income cap".

MPs were considering the Health and Social Care Bill^[1]. This vote was on an amendment from Emily Thornberry MP^[2][3]:

• page 159, line 24, leave out Clause 168.

The clause^[4] the amendment would have left out of the Bill under consideration^[5] read:

• (1) In section 44 of the National Health Service Act 2006 (private health care), omit—
• :(a)subsection (1) (restriction on provision of private health services),
• :(b)subsection (2) (cap on private income),
• :(c)subsection (2A) (special provision for mental health foundation trusts),
• and
• (d)subsections (3) to (5) (interpretation etc.).
• (2)For the title to that section substitute “Power to charge for accommodation etc.”.
• (3)In consequence of subsection (1)(b) and (c), omit section 33 of the Health Act 2009.

Section 44 of the National Health Service Act 2006^[5] prevented any increase in the proportion of an NHS Foundation Trust's income derived from private charges. Having removed this cap the clause the amendment proposed removing would re-title the section "Power to charge for accommodation etc." as the remaining elements of Section 44 allow NHS Foundation Trusts to levy charges in respect of accommodation and services.

Explanatory notes^[7] on the retained clause (published after this division) explain:

• This clause repeals the restriction on the amount of income a foundation trust can earn from private charges, otherwise known as the "private patient income cap" .The cap, which was introduced in 2003, has the effect that a foundation trust cannot earn in any financial year a higher proportion of its total income from private charges than it derived from private charges in the financial year 2002-03 (the year before the first foundation trusts were authorised). For example, as no mental health foundation trust derived income from private charges in 2002-03, their cap was 0%. This was increased to 1.5% by section 33 of the Health Act 2009.
• The Bill does not repeal the provisions of section 44 of the NHS Act which allow foundation trusts to charge NHS patients for the provision of accommodation, such as a private room, and additional services, such as an ancillary service like the provision of a television.

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• [1] Parliament's webpage on the Health and Social Care Bill (Now the Health and Social Care Act 2012)
• [2] Official Record, House of Commons, 6 September 2011
• [3] Amendment sheet for consideration of the Health and Social Care Bill on Tuesday 6 September 2011
• [4] Clause 168 (Private Health Care) from Health and Social Care Bill as at 18 July 2013
• [5] Health and Social Care Bill as at 18 July 2013
• [6] Section 44 of the National Health Service Act 2006
• [7] Explanatory Notes to the Health And Social Care Bill as brought from the House of Commons on 8th September 2011

Debate in Parliament | Source |