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Health and Social Care Bill

In response to the noble Lord, Lord Walton, the answer is yes. The penalty scheme is a coherent scheme that will be applied across the board; it is not a dual scheme. As we read the various clauses, it is clear that it applies all the way through. On how fines are recycled, the only assurance I can give at the moment relates to those that involve public funding. We are still looking at how the others might be recycled or what could happen to them. I cannot give a specific answer at this point, but no doubt we will return to this issue. While I cannot comment on any specific instance—indeed, it would be wrong of me to do so at this point—if a provider offends in many different ways, a fine can be imposed relating to each of the different instances. However, I am not going to state specifically what those ways might be, although it could be a fine of up to £300,000 if that was deemed necessary in terms of the severity of the sanction required.