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The Health Protection Agency Bill RESEARCH PAPER 04/47 The Health Protection 17 JUNE 2004 Agency Bill [HL] Bill 99 2003-04 The Health Protection Agency was established on 1 April 2003, as a Special Health Authority under the NHS Act 1977. The aim of the Health Protection Agency Bill is to establish the Agency as a non- departmental public body, incorporating the National Radiological Protection Board and thereby formally bring together all the elements of health protection and emergency planning to provide a comprehensive health protection system. The Health Protection Agency Bill would provide the Agency with a wider range of functions than those presently available to a Special Health Authority. Kate Haire SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENT SECTION HOUSE OF COMMONS LIBRARY Recent Library Research Papers include: 04/31 Individual ministerial responsibilities – issues and examples 05.04.04 04/32 Unemployment by Constituency, March 2004 16.04.04 04/33 The Human Rights Clause in the EU's External Agreements 16.04.04 04/34 Age-Related Payments Bill [Bill 92 of 2003-04] 29.04.04 04/35 Economic Indicators [includes article: Offshoring] 04.05.04 04/36 The Energy Bill [HL] [Bill 93 of 2003-04] 06.05.04 04/37 The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority: Part 2 of the Energy Bill [HL] 06.05.04 [Bill 93 of 2003-04] 04/38 Election Timetables 04.05.04 04/39 Unemployment by Constituency, April 2004 12.05.04 04/40 Parliamentary pay and allowances 18.05.04 04/41 The Patents Bill [HL] [Bill 90 of 2003-04] 03.06.04 04/42 Social Indicators [includes article: Summer Olympic Games: Facts 07.06.04 and Figures 04/43 The Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Bill [HL]: Criminal 09.06.04 procedure and victims [Bill 83 of 2003-04] 04/44 The Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Bill [HL]: Domestic 09.06.04 violence provisions [Bill 83 of 2003-04] 04/45 The Public Audit (Wales) Bill [Bill 108 of 2003-04] 15.06.04 Research Papers are available as PDF files: • to members of the general public on the Parliamentary web site, URL: http://www.parliament.uk • within Parliament to users of the Parliamentary Intranet, URL: http://hcl1.hclibrary.parliament.uk Library Research Papers are compiled for the benefit of Members of Parliament and their personal staff. Authors are available to discuss the contents of these papers with Members and their staff but cannot advise members of the general public. Any comments on Research Papers should be sent to the Research Publications Officer, Room 407, 1 Derby Gate, London, SW1A 2DG or e-mailed to [email protected] ISSN 1368-8456 Summary of main points The Health Protection Agency was established on 1 April 2003. It was created under the National Health Service Act 1977 as a Special Health Authority, to provide an improved response to the threat from infectious diseases, and chemical biological and radiological hazards. It brought together a number of organisations, and works in partnership with the National Radiological Protection Board The Health Protection Agency Bill will establish the Health Protection Agency as a non- departmental public body, incorporating the National Radiological Protection Board, which will allow a wider range of functions to be undertaken. The devolved administrations are to decide the exact function of the agency in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The HPA will work with Primary Care Trusts, NHS trusts, and local authorities. There are also plans to strengthen international cooperation with the World Health Organisation and other international bodies, especially in reference to surveillance of emerging diseases. It has been created in two stages to prevent any delay that may have resulted from a lack of legislative time. The Health Protection Agency published a five year corporate plan on 5 August 2003. This listed twelve strategic goals to deal with the perceived major health protection threats, and to improve the state of health emergency planning. The Bill was introduced in the House of Lords in November 2003 and brought to the House of Commons on 29 April 2004. CONTENTS I Background to the Health Protection Agency 9 A. Getting Ahead of the Curve 9 B. Health Protection: a consultation document on creating a health protection agency 10 II Setting up of the Health Protection Agency as a Special Health Authority 10 A. Functions of the Health Protection Agency 11 B. Structure of the Health Protection Agency 12 1. General structure 12 2. Divisions of the Health Protection Agency 12 3. Partner organisations 16 C. Comments on the Health Protection Agency 16 1. Faculty of Public Health 16 2. The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health 17 3. Public Health Laboratory Service 18 D. Reports published after HPA created 19 1. Fighting Infection 19 2. Government Response 19 E. Health Protection Agency Corporate Plan 2003-2008 20 F. Present situation 21 III Proposals to establish the Health Protection Agency as a Non- Departmental Public Body 24 A. Background to proposed legislative changes 24 1. Health Protection: A consultation document on creating a health protection agency 24 2. Consultation on proposals for a Health Protection Agency 24 3. Comments on proposals 26 IV The Bill 26 A. House of Lords Second Reading Debate 27 1. Clauses 27 2. Main points of debate 29 B. House of Lords Grand Committee 31 1. Agreed amendments 31 2. Amendments not accepted 33 C. Health Protection Agency Report Stage 38 1. Main Amendments 39 2. Amendments not accepted 42 D. House of Lords Third Reading 43 1. Agreed amendments 43 2. Amendments not accepted 44 E. Views on the Bill 45 1. The Conservative Party 45 2. The Liberal Democrat Party 45 RESEARCH PAPER 04/47 I Background to the Health Protection Agency Over the past few years there has been increasing concern over the threat presented by infectious diseases and acute or chronic exposure to chemical and radiological hazards. Infectious diseases still represent a significant health burden, with the infection rate of some diseases including HIV and tuberculosis rising. New diseases such as SARS have emerged and demonstrate the need for close vigilance, and the importance of an integrated approach to fight these diseases. Concern has also been mounting over the adequacy of service provision in the event of a health emergency, including those that could result from deliberate release of a biological, radiological or chemical agent by a terrorist organisation. Prior to the establishment of the Health Protection Agency a number of different organisations were responsible for providing services in their individual field of expertise. The aim of the HPA is to provide a more systematic and effective approach to managing the risks poised by infectious, chemical and radiological threats. The reports that proposed the setting up of the agency are discussed below. A. Getting Ahead of the Curve The Chief Medical Officer’s strategy for combating infectious diseases, and other aspects of health protection, Getting Ahead of the Curve, was published in January 2002. The report addresses issues related to health protection beyond just examining the control of infectious diseases. The report contained the first proposal for the establishment of the Health Protection Agency. The Report concluded that it was necessary to:1 • To recognise the scope and nature of the threat poised to the public by infectious diseases. • To take a broad approach to health protection so that the risks of chemical, radiation and infectious hazards are considered as an entirety. • To stress the scale of the emergence of new infectious diseases, and the global nature of this problem. • To combat the resurgence of health care associated infection.2 1 Getting Ahead of the Curve, Chief Medical Officer, January 2002 http://www.publications.doh.gov.uk/cmo/idstrategy/idstrategy2002.pdf 9 RESEARCH PAPER 04/47 • To ensure that co-ordinated health emergency plans exist to deal with the threat from the deliberate release of biological or chemical agents. The Report therefore proposed to create a new national agency, the Health Protection Agency (HPA), by reducing the national bodies involved in provision of services from four to one. The aim was to achieve a cohesive modernised service to manage health protection and emergency planning from national to local level. B. Health Protection: a consultation document on creating a health protection agency From June to September 2002 the Department of Health undertook an extensive consultation exercise on the creation of the agency, which received more than 200 responses.3 In November 2002 the decision to create the agency through a two tier system was announced. The proposed stages were: 1. The Health Protection Agency would initially be created as a Special Heath Authority in England and Wales, under the National Health Service Act 1977. 2. The Health Protection Agency would subsequently be established under legislation as a non-departmental public body, and would include the National Radiological Protection Board. II Setting up of the Health Protection Agency as a Special Health Authority The Health Protection Agency was established as a Special Health Authority for England and Wales on 1 April 2003.4 This created a single organisation which brought together the expertise and skills from different bodies, to provide a comprehensive health protection system. The HPA took on responsibility for providing or commissioning the functions that had been the responsibility of the following bodies: • The Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS), including the Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre (CDSC) and Central Public Health Laboratory • The Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research (CAMR), which was part of PHLS. CAMR is responsible for the research and development of microbiological services and products. 2 This is the term now used to describe ‘hospital acquired’ infection and refers to infections transmitted to patients during their care in either hospitals or primary care settings.
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