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NHS Redress Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 18:"Page 3, line 4, leave out ““may”” and insert ““shall””" The noble Baroness said: In moving Amendment No. 18, I shall speak also to Amendment No. 25. We wish to replace the word ““may”” with ““shall”” because unless the scheme is forced to move along at a reasonable rate and there is a requirement for the Secretary of State to push it along, there may well be considerable drift in the proceedings. This point was made to us very effectively by the Law Society. Unless the scheme has clear rules about when proceedings should start, how long they should take, and how long it is reasonable for somebody to have to wait, we know from the NHS’s attitude to complaints that there is an inclination to let things run on so that, with any luck, the complainant will go away, or even die. There is a strong argument for forcing the scheme to put in a reasonable timeframe. We would like to see the investigation separate from the other stages, but it must have a sense of urgency. The argument that it is difficult to find out the details should not be allowed to be used. For that reason, on the question of timings, we feel that it is better to say, ““shall”” and force it rather faster than the present phrasing allows. I beg to move.