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Health and Social Care Bill

I support my noble friend. At Second Reading, from these Benches we put a lot of emphasis on a light touch for regulation and proportionality. That was the Government’s theme in earlier debates. I am anxious that we do not have a heavy-handed regulatory body. At Second Reading, I remember giving your Lordships an example of where, in the past, we had prescriptive regulations on issues such as the size of rooms, whether they should be en-suite and whether they should be doubles, singles or whatever. The result was devastating and a large number of nice little homely homes had to close. In the end, the Government had to rescind those standards because they realised what damage was being done. We are seeking to ensure that there is no repeat of that disaster.