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Health and Social Care Bill

I am grateful to all noble Lords who have spoken in this debate and for the support that they were able to give to the amendment, which was extremely welcome. The noble Baroness, Lady Howarth, was right that the case for the amendment should be viewed in the same context as that for the first group of amendments that we debated today. It is all about giving the commission a better sense of independence and a better way of justifying what it does from year to year. I heard what the Minister had to say and was not completely convinced. My noble friend Lady Cumberlege has already made some powerful points on that score. Clause 79, to which the Minister referred, is, as he will realise, a clause which provides for ex post facto reporting of the commission’s activities, not reporting in advance. The key to my amendment was the idea that reporting in advance would enable the public to be reassured that the commission’s work was not going to be hijacked in any way. By the time that a year is finished, it is too late. I of course understand that we are all looking for an integrated approach to regulation, as the Minister pointed out, but that surely does not mean that the commission will be unable to distinguish between its various streams of activity. Clause 79 certainly implies that the commission will be required to distinguish between its streams of activity in presenting the reports for each financial year. So I was not totally persuaded by that point. Nevertheless, there is much to reflect on here; I shall do just that between now and Report. In the meantime, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. Schedule 1 [The Care Quality Commission]: