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Health and Social Care Bill

moved Amendment No. 57A: 57A: Clause 25, page 13, line 27, leave out subsection (4) The noble Earl said: Clause 25(4) contains what appears to be a surprising provision. Where a provider complies with a warning notice, the regulator cannot use this as a ground for cancellation, suspension of registration, the imposition of a new condition or the variation or removal of any condition of registration. Why does the Minister believe that in certain circumstances that would not prejudice effective enforcement action? Let us suppose that a provider is served with a warning notice for failing to comply with a particular requirement and then rectifies the failure within a specified time period. In that event, the relevant failure could not be used as part of any grounds for a subsequent cancellation or suspension of registration. Those providers who do just enough to comply with warning notices will be in a stronger position to avoid regulatory action than those who are not served with such notices. That surely cannot be fair. It could mean—as happened, for example, in the notorious Longcare case—that relevant information is available but is not made known to the regulator. The issue at stake is the provider’s suitability to remain registered, but it is not difficult to imagine circumstances where it would be difficult or impossible for the regulator to obtain a full picture on which to base that assessment. It would amount to a breach of the Soham principle, which is to build up a picture of someone’s previous conduct and attitude in relation to vulnerable individuals. By the opposite token, if the rules of evidence are constrained in this way, it may act as a spur to the regulator to take more serious enforcement action against a provider without first issuing a warning notice. One could imagine cases where such action was disproportionate. I should be grateful if the Minister explained the thinking behind this part of the clause. I beg to move.