Part 2: Health and Adult Social Care Information Section 95: Information standards
Subsection (2) amends section 250 (powers to publish information standards) of the 2012 Act, by substituting subsections (2) and (6), inserting new subsections (2A), (2B), and (6A) to (6D), and omitting subsection (5).
	The substituted subsection (2) defines "an information standard" as a standard in relation to the processing of information (as opposed to as a document containing such standards).
	New subsection (2A) provides that an information standard must specify to whom it applies.
	New subsection (2B) describes the persons who an information standard may apply to, being the Secretary of State, NHS England, any public body which exercises functions in connection with the provision of health care or adult social care in England and any person other than a public body who is required to be registered under Chapter 2 of Part 1 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 in respect of the carrying on of a regulated activity.
	Subsection (5) of section 250 of the 2012 Act, which specified that an information standard must include guidance about implementation of the standard, is omitted.
	The substituted subsection (6) requires the Secretary of State to have regard to any information standard published by NHS England which applies to the Secretary of State and to comply with any information standard published by the Secretary of State which applies to the Secretary of State.
	New subsection (6A) provides that any other person to whom an information standard applies must comply with the standard, except in so far as the requirement to comply is waived as permitted in regulations made under subsection (6B).
	New subsection (6B) enables regulations to empower a person publishing an information standard to waive the requirement to comply (wholly, partially, generally or for a specific period of time).
	New subsection (6C) enables those regulations to limit the circumstances when a waiver may be granted, to set out a procedure for waivers, and to require specific information about waivers to be included in an information standard.
	New subsection (6D) signposts to section 277E of the 2012 Act for enforcement of information standards against persons other than public bodies.
	Subsection (3) substitutes section 251 of the 2012 Act and inserts a new section 251ZA into that Act. The substituted section 251 requires regulations to set out the procedure to be followed in connection with preparing and publishing information standards under section 250 and enables regulations to require information standards to be reviewed from time to time. It requires the Secretary of State to consult appropriate persons before laying draft regulations in Parliament and allows the Secretary of State and NHS England to adopt any information standard prepared or published by another person.
	The new section 251ZA (information standards: compliance) enables the Secretary of State to require documents, records or other information from a person to enable the Secretary of State to monitor that person’s compliance with information standards. The Secretary of State must set out any requirement in writing and the requirement may set out how and when the person must provide the information. Subsection (4) of the new section 251ZA signposts to section 277E of the 2012 Act in respect of enforcement against persons other than public bodies.
	Subsection (4) inserts the definitions of "Health services", "Adult social care" and "public body" into section 251C of the 2012 Act.
	Subsection (5) ensures that any regulations containing provisions made under section 250(6B) (waivers of information standards) or 251(1) (the procedure for setting information standards), will be subject to the draft affirmative procedure.