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Health and Social Care Bill

I am delighted that we had a break just at that moment because I am sure that it has given the Minister a chance to find out exactly what the total cost is of health and social care services provided by both the state and the independent sector in this country, as well as the number of people employed in both undertakings. No doubt she will be ready with those figures for us by the end of the debate. I am beginning to sound like Boris Johnson, at least for a moment. The Government’s sustainable development strategy, Securing the Future, launched only three years ago in 2005, called on new bodies, as they are created, to apply sustainable development duties. Recalling what the noble Lord, Lord Warner, said in the debate on the previous amendment—that this legislation merely implements a government manifesto promise—how can we possibly be denied this small but important alteration to the Bill in order to bring in the words ““sustainable development””, which was also the subject of a government manifesto promise? I hope that the Minister will accept the point. Perhaps the Government will respond by saying that the NHS has a carbon reduction strategy. We have certainly heard about that. But that programme addresses only carbon reduction, not sustainable development, which is a much broader concept. A sustainable development requirement would ensure that the health service used all its corporate powers and resources, "““as an employer, a purchaser of goods and services, a manager of transport, energy, waste and water, as a landholder and commissioner of building work and as an influential neighbour in many communities””—" all these things are part of the health service—to benefit health and well-being by investing in local communities, the economy and the environment. Its carbon reduction strategy is much narrower in scope, addressing only one aspect of living within environmental limits. It does not and cannot include a full range of policy levers for carbon reduction, such as regulation, which the Department of Health determines. Indeed, the department needs to back the efforts of the NHS on carbon reduction by including sustainable development in its regulation. This is essential to ensure that the NHS meets the government target to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The NHS carbon management programme applies only to the health service, but here we are talking about the Care Quality Commission, which will be responsible for all social care services as well. So we cannot be told that the carbon reduction strategy makes our amendment unnecessary, because it covers only the NHS. Once again, I impress on the Committee our worry that social care services will miss out when the merger of the commissions takes place. The amendment is therefore essential for healthcare and social care to meet government targets and the Government’s own manifesto commitment on sustainable development. I thank the noble Lord, Lord Warner, for pointing that thought out to me. I beg to move.