---

NHS Redress Bill [Lords]

I do not agree with that. Let us face it, under the system that the Government propose, even though it is not independent, there must be a fact-finding process before moving on to a fault-finding process. The Government themselves propose that there should be independent medical experts, who, by their nature, will presumably not be employed by the trust in question, so there will be a degree of independent scrutiny. Frankly, that must be essential because in the absence of independent scrutiny, I am sure that patients would not regard the outcome of an investigation—whether in the form that the Government propose or that which we propose—as having the necessary validity for them to accept any kind of redress. There must be a degree of independence.