Public Health Law

Many of the existing Public Health (Control of Diseases) Act 1984 provisions were based on nineteenth century social conditions and were developed piecemeal over a long period. In its Ninth Programme of Law Reform [1] , the Law Commission concluded that public health law reform was so overdue that the government should undertake work in this area.

In March 2007, the Department of Health published a consultation paper proposing changes to Part 2 of the Public Health (Control of Diseases) Act 1984. The proposals are to repeal Part 2 of the Act and replace it with more modern and flexible provisions to strengthen the response to infectious diseases and contamination by chemicals and radiation.

On the 15th November 2007, Clauses 119 and 120 of the Health and Social Care Bill [2] were introduced in the House of Commons to insert a new Part 2A into the Public Health Act 1984 to replace the existing provisions. The Bill will also incorporate Schedule 11 which contains further amendments of this Act and other relevant Acts, ensuring that an 'all hazards' approach is reflected within this legal framework for Health Protection, rather than the current focus on specific notifiable diseases. The Bill also reviews the action that can be taken at international borders in the light of the International Health Regulations 2005.

A small group led by CRCE-Nottingham has been set up to inform this public health law review. Comments regarding the inclusion of chemical contamination and illustrative scenarios have been produced to inform the relevant sections within the Health and Social Care Bill.

[1]The Law Commission: Ninth Programme of Law reform, March 2005, HC 535:http://www.justice.gov.uk/lawcommission/docs/lc293_9th_Programme.pdf [external link]

[2]Health and Social Care Bill 2007-08: http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2007-08/healthandsocialcare.html [external link]