Commentary on Sections Part 5 – Public involvement and local government Local Healthwatch organisations Section 186 - Requests, rights of entry and referrals
1152.Subsections (1) to (5) amend section 224 of the 2007 Act, the effect of which is to enable the Secretary of State to make regulations to impose a duty on certain persons such as certain providers or commissioners of health or social care services to respond to requests for information, or reports or recommendations made by Local Healthwatch organisations or Local Healthwatch contractors when those organisations or contractors are carrying on Local Healthwatch activities or when Local Healthwatch organisations are discharging the duty under regulations under section 223(2)(i) to act with a view to securing that Local Healthwatch contractors are representative of the local area.
1153.Subsections (6) to (11) amend section 225 of the 2007 Act, the effect of which is to require the Secretary of State to make regulations to impose a duty on certain persons such as certain providers of health or social care services to allow representatives of Local Healthwatch organisations to enter and view premises and carry out observations for the purposes of carrying-on of Local Healthwatch activities, under arrangements under section 221(1) or Local Healthwatch arrangements.
1154.Subsections (12) to (16) make consequential amendments to section 226 of the 2007 Act, which imposes duties on local authority overview and scrutiny committees in relation to referrals of social care matters, including a duty to acknowledge receipt of referrals and to keep the referrer informed of the committee's actions. The amendments provide that those duties apply in relation to referrals by Local Healthwatch organisations or Local Healthwatch contractors instead.