12Further functions of the Commission for Health Improvement
(1)Section 20 of the 1999 Act (functions of the Commission for Health Improvement) is amended as provided in subsections (2) to (4).
(2)In subsection (1)—
(a)in paragraph (d), for “particular types of health care” there is substituted “health care”,
(b)the “and” at the end of paragraph (d) is omitted, and
(c)after paragraph (d) there is inserted—
“(da)the function of conducting reviews of, and making reports on, the quality of data obtained by others relating to the management, provision or quality of, or access to or availability of, health care for which NHS bodies or service providers have responsibility, the validity of conclusions drawn from such data, and the methods used in their collection and analysis,”.
(3)After subsection (1) there is inserted—
“(1A)The functions of conducting reviews and of carrying out investigations include—
(a)the collection and analysis of data, and
(b)the assessment of performance against criteria.
(1B)Subject to any regulations under paragraph (d) of subsection (2), the Commission must publish at least a summary of each report it makes in the exercise of the functions conferred on it by or under this section and sections 21 and 22.”
(4)In subsection (2), for paragraph (d) there is substituted—
“(d)as to cases or classes of case in which the Commission must publish reports (and not just summaries),”.
(5)In section 33 of the Audit Commission Act 1998 (c. 18) (studies for improving economy etc in services), in subsection (6)(c), after “Secretary of State” there is inserted “, the Commission for Health Improvement”.