Part 6: Miscellaneous Professional Regulation Section 168: Regulation of health care and associated professions
This section amends sections 60 and 62 of and Schedule 3 to the Health Act 1999 and enables further changes to be made through secondary legislation to the professional regulation system.
	Subsection (2)(a) and (b) of this section amends section 60 by inserting new subsection (1)(bza) and (be) and permits a profession currently regulated to be removed from statutory regulation when the profession no longer requires regulation for the purpose of the protection of the public. This power extends to the regulation of social care workers in England, for whom the power to regulate in legislation is not currently enacted. Subsection (2)(c) substitutes a new subsection (2) into section 60 which provides an updated list of the legislation that regulates the professions and subsection (2)(d) inserts a new subsection (2ZZA) which clarifies that a healthcare profession within the scope of section 60 includes any group of workers, whether or not they are generally regarded as a profession, which may include senior managers and leaders. Subsection (2)(e) amends subsection (2ZB) of section 60 to make clear the new power to take professions out of regulation includes the currently un-enacted provisions concerning social care workers in England.
	Subsection (3) amends section 62 of the Health Act 1999 to require the consent of the Welsh Ministers to any provision in an Order in Council made by virtue of section 60(2ZZA) that is within the legislative competence of Senedd Cymru, and is not merely incidental to, or consequential on provision that would be outside of that competence.
	Subsection (4)(a) and (b) amends Schedule 3 to the Health Act 1999 (by inserting a new paragraph 1C and removing sub-paragraphs (1) and (1A) of paragraph 7) to permit the abolition of an individual health and care professional regulatory body, where the professions it regulates will continue to be regulated by another regulatory body or where the professions have been deregulated. This power includes the regulation of social care workers in England for which the power to regulate in legislation is not currently enacted.
	Previous restrictions on the power for health and care regulatory bodies to delegate their functions in Schedule 3, paragraph 8, through legislation are amended by subsection (4)(c) to enable the delegation of certain functions to another regulatory body. These functions are the keeping of a register; determining standards of education and training for admission to practice and providing advice about standards of conduct and performance; and carrying out the fitness to practise function. This will also apply to the regulation of social care workers in England, if the provisions concerning them are enacted. The intention is that the delegating regulator will retain responsibility for the delegated function in relation to the professions it continues to regulate.