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NHS Redress Bill [Lords]

As we know, the amendments deal with the publication of reports and the limitation on their disclosure. We have no problem with Government amendment No. 9. It is important that lessons are learned, so a report to that effect should be produced and encouraged. Our concern is with Government amendment No. 11. Our approach to the preparation of reports and their disclosure is relatively simple. We propose that the investigation should be limited to a fact-finding exercise. That is a discussion that we will come to later on a different group of amendments. We propose that in every case a report should be made of such an investigation and made available to the person concerned in any event, whether or not compensation is sought and whether or not an offer is accepted. If we believe that the culture of the NHS needs to change and that we need a more open, transparent and robust investigation of the facts, it is logical to expect that reports in all cases should be made available to the patients. That is what our amendment No. 4 aims to achieve. When the stage is reached at which any offer is made, then in any reports concerned with assessment of liability the usual professional practice in respect of privilege would apply. In other words, the practice where a client and a lawyer consider the client’s legal liabilities remains confidential to the client and the lawyer. This solution is a logical consequence of separating fact finding from fault finding. The Government’s solution to that is partly set out in amendment No. 11. It refers to an investigation report, but it is not clear whether that report is fact finding, fault finding or both. I ask the Minister to reflect on that as it creates a functional incoherence that was described in another place as a dog’s breakfast.