The Shipman Inquiry was the report produced by a British governmental investigation into the activities of general practitioner and serial killer Harold Shipman . Shipman was arrested in September 1998 and the inquiry commenced shortly after he was found guilty of 15 murders in January 2000. It released its findings in various stages, with its sixth and final report being released on 27 January 2005 – by which time Shipman had died by suicide in prison. It was chaired by Dame Janet Smith DBE .
33-463: While Shipman was convicted of 15 murders, the inquiry in July 2002 established that he had killed at least 284 people, and may have killed as many as 300, although the true number could be even higher. The inquiry took approximately 2,500 witness statements and analysed approximately 270,000 pages of evidence. In total the six reports ran to 5,000 pages and the investigation cost £21 million. In May 2001, it
66-506: A number of recommendations for the reform of various British systems. It called for coroners to be better trained and underlined that better controls on the use of schedule 2, 3 and 4 drugs by doctors and pharmacists were needed. It also recommended that fundamental changes be implemented in the way that doctors are overseen. Specifically, it said, the General Medical Council "was an organisation designed to look after
99-611: A physical gathering. The assembling of the King, Lords, and Commons as the King-in-Parliament is now "notional rather than real", only occurring ceremonially at the annual State Opening of Parliament . The composition of the King-in-Parliament is reflected in the enacting clause of acts of the British Parliament with: " Be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of
132-684: Is a core tenet of the Constitution of the United Kingdom and has application in the Westminster system more generally. As a concept, legislative authority being exercised by the King-in-Parliament is compatible with different distributions of power among its three components. This allowed for increasing limitations on the monarch’s direct and unilateral influence within Parliament over the 18th and 19th centuries. The influence of
165-481: Is currently held by Wes Streeting , who has served since 5 July 2024. Corresponding to what is generally known as a health minister in many other countries, the health secretary's remit includes the following: The first Boards of Health were created by Orders in the Council dated 21 June, 14 November, and 21 November 1831. In 1848, a General Board of Health was established with lay members in leadership roles and
198-505: Is in contradistinction to the idea of the separation of powers . In Commonwealth realms that are federations , the concept of the King in parliament applies within that specific parliament only, as each sub-national parliament is considered separate and distinct from each other and from the federal parliaments (such as Australian states or the Canadian provinces ). According to constitutional scholar A.V. Dicey , "Parliament means, in
231-693: The Department of Health played a larger role than it does now in the coordination of health policy across Great Britain. Health services in Northern Ireland have always had separate arrangements from the rest of the UK and are currently the responsibility of the health minister in the Northern Ireland Executive . A small number of health issues remain reserved matters , meaning they are not devolved. According to Jeremy Hunt ,
264-639: The Department of Health and Social Security on 25 July 1988. Since devolution in 1999, the position holder's responsibility for the NHS is mainly restricted to the health service in England , while the holders' counterparts in Scotland and Wales are responsible for the NHS in Scotland and Wales . Prior to devolution, the secretaries of state for Scotland and Wales had those respective responsibilities, but
297-686: The Parliament of Canada as the legislative authority for the country, defining it as consisting of "the Queen [or King], an Upper House styled the Senate, and the House of Commons." The Parliament of Canada may be referred to as the King-in-Parliament, and its three-part composition is based on "the British model of legislative sovereignty vesting in the [King]-in-Parliament". Canadian acts of Parliament use
330-531: The Westminster system used in many Commonwealth realms , the King-in-Parliament (Queen-in-Parliament during the reign of a queen) is a constitutional law concept that refers to the components of parliament – the sovereign (or vice-regal representative ) and the legislative houses – acting together to enact legislation. Parliamentary sovereignty is a concept in
363-538: The execution of Charles I (1649). The Parliamentarian position ultimately prevailed with the Glorious Revolution (1688–89) and subsequent passing of the Bill of Rights 1689 , which significantly limited the day-to-day powers of the monarch, including removing prerogative powers to unilaterally suspend or dispense with statutes. The concept of the King-in-Parliament holding supreme legislative authority
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#1732787934442396-473: The first commissioner of woods and forests as its president. In 1854, this board was reconstituted, and the president was appointed separately. However, the board was abolished in 1858, and its function of overseeing local boards was transferred to a new Local Government Act Office within the Home Office. From 1871, that function was transferred to the new Local Government Board . The Ministry of Health
429-513: The health secretary , is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom , responsible for the work of the Department of Health and Social Care . The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom . The position can trace its roots back to the nineteenth century, and has been a secretary of state position since 1968. For 30 years, from 1988 to 2018, the position
462-587: The 15 deaths Shipman was convicted of, it concluded that Shipman had killed 250 patients, starting in 1971 while he was working in Pontefract General Infirmary. Though the majority of his victims were elderly, there was a strong suspicion that he had killed one patient aged four. The report rejected claims by a prisoner, John Harkin, who knew Shipman while he was in Preston prison, that Shipman had confessed to 508 deaths. The report made
495-514: The Crown such as through an order in council . The concept of the Crown as a part of parliament is related to the idea of the fusion of powers , meaning that the executive branch and legislative branch of government are fused together. This is a key concept of the Westminster system of government, developed in England and used in countries in the Commonwealth of Nations and beyond. It
528-473: The House of Lords has also been significantly limited, most notably by the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 , which allow money bills to be passed against the wishes of the House of Lords. Such legislation can still be understood in a constitutional sense to be an act of the King-in-Parliament, that is by the King, Lords, and Commons acting jointly as a single body known as parliament. In order to act as
561-468: The King acting with the consent of the Lords and Commons, but ultimately exercising his own sovereign authority. The Parliamentarian view was that legislative authority was exercised by the "King-in-Parliament”, a composite institution of the King, Lords, and Commons acting together. As described by Jeffrey Goldsworthy , "The question that divided them was whether [the] final, unchallengeable decision-maker
594-540: The King-in-Parliament, the individual components must act according to their established rules and procedures. The individuals involved must be "constituted as a public institution qua Parliament (on the basis of some rules and under certain circumstances)" in order to "[enjoy] the power to legislate as 'the [King] in Parliament' i.e., the ultimate legislature." This creates a potential paradox when determining Parliament’s ability to modify its own rules or composition. Section 17 of Canada's Constitution Act, 1867 establishes
627-483: The Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows...". In England , by the mid-16th century, it was established that the "King in Parliament" held supreme legislative authority. However, this phrase was subject to two competing theories of interpretation. The Royalist view interpreted the phrase as "King, in Parliament"; that is,
660-710: The Queen-in-Parliament as "a purely formal body consisting of the Queen sitting on her Throne with the Lords of Parliament sitting before her and the Commons standing at the Bar." This formal gathering was historically the only process by which legislation could be enacted. The Royal Assent by Commission Act 1541 allowed Lords Commissioners to stand in for the monarch, and the Royal Assent Act 1967 allowed legislation to be enacted by pronunciation, without
693-582: The constitutional law of Westminster systems that holds that parliament has absolute sovereignty and is supreme over all other government institutions. The King-in-Parliament as a composite body (that is, parliament) exercises this legislative authority. Bills passed by the houses are sent to the sovereign or their representative (such as the governor-general , lieutenant-governor , or governor ), for royal assent in order to enact them into law as acts of Parliament . An Act may also provide for secondary legislation , which can be made by executive officers of
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#1732787934442726-468: The department receives more letters than any other government department, and there are 50 officials in the correspondence unit. Colour key (for political parties): Whig Conservative Radical Peelite Liberal Labour Unionist National Labour National Liberal King-in-Parliament In
759-592: The enacting clause: " Now, therefore , His Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows..." Canada's provincial legislatures are constitutionally defined as consisting of the province's lieutenant governor (as the representative of the King) and a popularly elected legislative assembly. The concept of King-in-Parliament also applies to these sub-national legislatures. Legal scholar Paul McHugh describes Canada as having "a crisis of constitutional identity" in
792-658: The inquiry would be held under the terms of the Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Act 1921. This was then ratified by both Houses of Parliament in January 2001. Lord Laming was replaced by Smith. Dr Aneez Esmail was medical adviser to the inquiry. Smith initially hoped to finish her inquiries by "Spring of 2003". The inquiry was held in the Town Hall in Manchester with proceedings relayed by closed-circuit television to
825-829: The interests of doctors, not patients". In 2008, a University of Dundee investigation found that even if the monitoring of patients' deaths was introduced as the inquiry suggested, it would still take 30 deaths to detect a murderous trend. Secretary of State for Health King Charles III [REDACTED] William, Prince of Wales [REDACTED] Charles III ( King-in-Council ) [REDACTED] Starmer ministry ( L ) Keir Starmer ( L ) Angela Rayner ( L ) ( King-in-Parliament ) [REDACTED] Charles III [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] The Lord Reed The Lord Hodge Andrew Bailey Monetary Policy Committee The secretary of state for health and social care , also referred to as
858-542: The later 20th century, finding "the old Whig narrative of an absolute sovereign self (the Crown in Parliament)" to be inadequate. The Canadian response was to "not seek to refurbish a historical order so much as to fundamentally reorder it by adopting the Charter of Rights and Freedoms limiting the power of government, the Crown in Parliament (federal and provincial) included." The New Zealand Parliament consists of
891-445: The mouth of a lawyer (though the word has often a different sense in ordinary conversation), the King, the House of Lords, and the House of Commons; these three bodies acting together may be aptly described as the 'King in Parliament,' and constitute Parliament." Legal philosopher H. L. A. Hart wrote that the Queen-in-Parliament is “considered as a single continuing legislative entity”. Constitutional scholar Ivor Jennings described
924-634: The public library in Hyde , where Shipman had lived, in order for the town's inhabitants to follow it more easily. The Administration of the Inquiry was managed by Henry Palin, who was supported by Michael Taylor and later Mark Dillon. Oonagh McIntosh was the Secretary to the Inquiry. There were four main areas investigated: The inquiry found major flaws in the processes of death registration, prescription of drugs and monitoring of doctors. In all, including
957-504: Was announced that the inquiry would be investigating a total of 618 deaths between 1974 and 1998. On 1 February 2000, the Secretary of State for Health , Alan Milburn , announced that an independent private inquiry would take place into Shipman's activities. It would decide what "changes to current systems should be made in order to safeguard patients in the future". Its findings would be made public, though it would be held in private. It
990-657: Was created by the Ministry of Health Act 1919 as a reconstruction of the Local Government Board. Local government functions were eventually transferred to the minister of housing and local government , leaving the Health Ministry in charge of health matters. From 1968, it was amalgamated with the Ministry of Social Security under the secretary of state for social services , until the de-merger of
1023-534: Was the king alone, or the King, Lords, and Commons in parliament." The dispute had implications for the ability of Parliament to limit the monarch’s powers, or "the supremacy of the King in Parliament over the King out of Parliament." The clash between the Royalist and Parliamentarian views continued through the 16th century and much of the 17th, and was a factor in the English Civil War (1642-1651) and
The Shipman Inquiry - Misplaced Pages Continue
1056-511: Was titled Secretary of State for Health , before Prime Minister Theresa May added "and Social Care" to the designation in the 2018 British cabinet reshuffle . The officeholder works alongside other health and social care ministers . The corresponding shadow minister is the shadow secretary of state for health and social care , and the secretary of state is also scrutinised by the Health and Social Care Select Committee . The position
1089-518: Was to be chaired by Lord Laming of Tewin . It began work on 10 March and was to produce a report by September 2000. Many families of the victims along with certain sections of the British media called for a Judicial Review in the High Court . It found in their favour and recommended that the inquiry be held in public. The Secretary of State for Health agreed, and in September 2000 announced that
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