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Health Bill

My Lords, the noble Lord should not read anything into what I said about what a future Conservative Government might or might not do. I had not intended to address that possibility; I was merely addressing the Bill as we now have it, and the debates that we had earlier today. I note the noble Lord’s anxiety to find out what the next Conservative Government will do; I shall do my best to inform him as soon as I reasonably can. The sunset provision would bring the provisions of the clause to an end after three years unless the Secretary of State ruled otherwise, in which case they could be extended. My firm belief is that in framing legislation, we should try to minimise its burdens wherever possible. This proposal is the next best thing to deleting the clause altogether, and I hope that it will find favour with noble Lords. I beg to move.