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Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill

moved Amendment No. 216B: 216B: Clause 124, page 80, line 11, leave out ““may”” and insert ““shall”” The noble Lord said: I shall speak also to Amendment No. 216F. The three further amendments in the group are in the name of my noble friend Lady Hamwee. Amendment No. 216B is a traditional ““may/shall”” amendment relating to the recommendations and the report of an overview and scrutiny committee. New Section 21B, which is to go into the 2000 Act, states: "““The overview and scrutiny committee may publish the report or recommendations””." It seems to me that the word should be ““shall””. Clearly, a general assumption that a report should be published will be subject to the constraints of acceptable information in terms of what can be made public. If a report contains personal or financial information, it may well be caught in that way. Subject to that, however, I should like to know why the Government are suggesting that there might be circumstances in which a report should not be published. The legislation should reflect a presumption for publication subject to the normal exemptions that apply throughout local government. Amendment No. 216F is consequential. I beg to move.