Care Bill

The Academy of Medical Sciences welcomed the news that the Care Bill received Royal Assent on 14 May 2014 becoming an Act of Parliament, the Care Act 2014.

The Care Act 2014 includes clauses to establish Health Education England (HEE) and the Health Research Authority (HRA) in primary legislation. HEE aims to deliver a better health and healthcare workforce for England. The HRA will create a unified approval process for health research and was established following a report from the Academy.

The Academy worked with the medical research charities and other organisations to brief parliamentarians as they considered the Bill and responded to consultations by the joint scrutiny committee and the Department of Health on the Bill, as part of our ongoing monitoring of NHS reforms.

We are delighted that the Academy’s recommendations to strengthen HEE's duty to promote research and to be explicit about the relationship between the HRA and NHS Trusts have been addressed in the Care Act 2014.