---

Health Bill

My Lords, I thank the Minister for taking the time to go through the arguments once again. I hope he will accept that I am not in any way against the use of technologies that will enable pharmacists to be more efficient or to take on other roles, but my central point remains that only a pharmacist can be a pharmacist. Other people can carry out other activities, such as giving smoking cessation advice or advice on diet, but pharmacists have absolutely fundamental and central skills, and much of what they do is built on that basic trust. At a time when medicines are becoming much more complex and much more personalised, it seems to me to be potentially harmful to remove the personal relationship between pharmacists and their customers, which has been central both to quality of service and patient safety. I have listened to what the Minister said, and I do not intend to push this to a vote. I will look at the regulations with very great care indeed. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.