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Health and Social Care Bill

moved Amendment No. 2: 2: Clause 1, page 1, line 9, at end insert— ““( ) The Care Quality Commission shall take responsibility for the functions specified in section 2 on 1st January 2013.”” The noble Lord said: I rise mostly to apologise to the Committee. As the Deputy Chairman and others have recognised, it is my 60th birthday today. Of course, by far the nicest way to spend it would be to be in the Committee for the full duration of its proceedings discussing regulation. Unfortunately, I have a social function for which I have to leave at 5.30 pm and which people are travelling many hundreds of miles to attend. I am obviously in the hands of the Committee. I could move the amendment but would not be able to stay for the whole debate and would have to catch up with it in Hansard. I should appreciate the guidance of the Committee—I look round to see whether noble Lords nod—on whether it would be content for me to proceed on that basis.