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Health and Social Care Bill

I might have to lie on the couch to think about that. I do not see it as being within the scope of the Bill—far from it. It is the subject of numerous submissions and considerable argument, and it would be much better for us to discuss it in a rather more serious and considered way than in this very short exchange. My hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire has helpfully found an assurance for the hon. Member for Wolverhampton, South-West on his earlier intervention about the legal aid test. I draw his attention to annexe C1 of the impact assessments document, which says:"““As stated in the evidence base, it is not expected that the number of orders made to a justice of the peace, (currently approximately 10 orders per year) or the numbers of prosecutions (currently none brought) will significantly increase. Therefore there is likely to be little impact on the work of the courts. Consistent with this, there is likely to be little impact on legal aid.””" It does not address the question of the impact on the health service ombudsman, who would be the point of appeal of last resort. There is another matter that we need to be clear about as regards professional regulation. We know for sure that strong submissions will be made to the Committee about the proposals on the standard of proof. I reconfirm that we support the change from a criminal to a civil burden of proof in principle, but the Government have not yet provided clarity on the flexibly applied nature of the imposition of the new standard. We will not only seek to draw out the likely impact of the changes but seek assurances on the application of the sliding scale. I submit that evidential proof should be to the civil standard but, given that the ultimate sanction is to deny somebody their living, the procedural rules should be as for a criminal case, where someone knows the evidence against them well in advance and has the opportunity to test it extensively. I also hope that the Government will entrench in the Bill a more positive approach to professional regulation, bringing greater opportunities for benchmarking and professional development. Hon. Members raised several points about public health and health in pregnancy. My hon. Friend the Member for Guildford (Anne Milton) will take those matters through Committee, so I shall leave them for her to develop extensively. Interestingly, the miscellaneous provisions are quite substantive. In its breadth, the Bill gives us an opportunity to debate several key issues regarding the provision of health and social care. Sadly, the solutions proposed by the Government do not appear to be sufficient or sufficiently focused. That is true of this Bill as of so many others. That gives us the chance to try to improve it immeasurably, and I hope that we can do so for the sake of the future health care of our constituents, patients and the public. It is our social responsibility to give them the social care that they deserve.