Health Minister Edward Argar has agreed to table a government amendment to the Health and Care Bill that would prevent private interests from being on any Integrated Care Board. This has now been confirmed in the published report of the First Sitting of the Bill Committee on September 7.
Responding to opposition amendments seeking to exclude private companies, Argar said:
“We recognise that the involvement of the private sector, in all its forms, in ICBs is a matter of significant concern to Members in the House, and we are keen to put the point beyond doubt.
“However, having taken appropriate advice, I am afraid that that these amendments would not cover a number of scenarios—for example, lobbyists for private providers, or those with a strong ideological commitment to the private sector—and they would therefore not be watertight.
Full story in The Lowdown, 20 September 2021