Health and Social Care Bill timeline
The Health & Social Care Bill proposes extensive changes to the structure of the health system in the UK. This will have a significant impact on our ability to conduct health research and improve patient care in the future.

AMRC have been working closely with member charities and organisations funding and supporting health research in the UK to increase the focus on research and innovation as changes are made to the NHS and public health system. We are working to ensure that the reformed NHS is set up to promote research and benefit from the evidence and new technologies that it generates. Here we have set out a timeline of the major events during the progression of the bill through parliament, highlighting our involvement.

14 February 2012
8 February 2012
  • The government amend the bill to strengthen the duty on the Secretary of State for Health, the NHS Commissioning Board and the Clinical Commissioning Groups "to promote research" in the NHS. 
24 January 2012
  • Cross-party peers write to Earl Howe ahead of report stage to call for further research commitments
3 December 2011
31 October 2011
25 October 2011
  • The Health and Social Care Bill enters committee stage in the House of Lords. The health secretary's duty towards research is discussed (10 Nov)
  • AMRC release briefing on research-specific amendments for peers before the House of Lords committee stage
11 October 2011
8 October 2011
7 October 2011
  • Third reading of the Health and Social Care Bill in the House of Commons
  • AMRC release briefing for peers in the House of Lords outlining the need to: give clarity on how commitments to promote research and innovation will be delivered; encourage research locally; enable the use of patient data for research; integrate patient involvement in research; develop the health research workforce; support innovation in the NHS; and streamline regulation
7 September 2011
6 Sept 2011
August 2011
  • AMRC produce briefing for MPs outlining the need to: give clarity on how commitments to promote research and innovation will be delivered; encourage research locally; enable the use of patient data for research; integrate patient involvement in research; develop the health research workforce; support innovation in the NHS; and streamline regulation
18 August 2011
  • NHS Future Forum announces that it will carry out new work on key health issues to provide the government with independent advice throughout the legislative process for the health and social care bill
14 July 2011
  • AMRC submission to the public bill committee for the health and social care bill asking for: a commitment to create a duty on the secretary of state and NHS commissioning boards to promote research; to embed a culture of research in the NHS; to ensure excess treatment costs are funded through normal arrangements; the establish Public Health England as an executive agency of the Department of Health; and to include a new duty for the secretary of state to maintain a system for professional education and training
20 June 2011
  • Government responds to NHS Future Forum committing to: create a duty for the secretary of state to "have regard to the need to promote research"; create a new duty for clinical commissioning groups to "have regard to the need to promote research" and innovation and the use of research evidence; ensure that a culture of research and innovation is embedded in the arrangements for both the board and Public Health England; ensure excess treatment costs are covered by local commissioning budgets; establish Public Health England as an executive agency; and to reassess patient data plans to improve access for research
14 June 2011
    13 June 2011
    • NHS Future Forum reports its findings and recommendations, including that commissioning consortia should have a duty towards research and that the new Public Health England must have independence from the Department of Health
    9 June 2011
    June 2011
    • AMRC submit evidence, on behalf of a coalition of biomedical research stakeholder organisations and research funders, to the House of Commons select committee inquiry on public health
    31 May 2011
    • AMRC submit a briefing to the NHS Future Forum identifying the key issues for health research raised by the bill and proposing solutions, including: a duty to promote research embedded throughout the system; mitigating the impacts of localisation on research; clarification of how excess research costs will be met; a need for incentives for research; independence of advice to government; and a system that supports and strengthens meaningful patient and public involvement in research
    19 May 2011
    6 April 2011
    • Government announces “listening exercise”. The NHS Future Forum is established to collect evidence and opinion on the bill
    8 February 2011
    February 2011
    • AMRC release briefing for committee stage outlining the need to: put more emphasis on research in the bill; engaging the public with research within the system; streamlining regulation; and improving patient data access  
    31 January 2011
    15 December 2010
    19 January 2011
    24 September 2010
    • The Academy of Medical Sciences writes to Andrew Lansley to emphasise the importance of making research central to the restructured NHS. 
    September 2010
    28 July 2010
    • The Department of Health proposes changes to the research regulators to create one research regulator, combining the research functions of several arm’s-length bodies including the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) and the Human Tissue Authority (HTA). Liberating the NHS: Report of the arms-length bodies review
    12 July 2010
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