NHS reform Bill to go back to MPs, says Clegg

NHS reforms will be delayed by months to give MPs a chance to scrutinise the altered proposals, Nick Clegg suggested yesterday. The Deputy Prime Minister admitted for the first time that it would be impossible to pursue the changes without going back to the House of Commons.

The decision means the reforms are likely to be delayed by at least six months as the Health Committee will be unable to complete its consideration of the altered Bill until after the long summer recess.

In a speech on the NHS yesterday, Mr Clegg suggested he was happy for competition from private operators to remain a central part of the reforms. "Competition can help drive up standards," he said.

He told senior representatives from health charities and patient groups at University College Hospital in London, it was an "unusual" decision by the Government to pause the progress of the legislation and that details of the changes "will have to wait" until the process is complete.

"The right kind of reform starts from the patients' point of view. Not bureaucrats, not unions, not ministers, not political parties – patients."

In a question-and-answer session he also confirmed that the Bill would go back to the Commons for scrutiny.