---

Health and Social Care Bill

I am sorry to labour the point, but will the noble Baroness bear in mind that there has been a lot of discussion about individual complaints not being taken up directly by the commission? Unfortunately, sometimes we deal with actual abuse and the people involved are very fearful. The sort of person the noble Earl talked about, someone with no relatives, is in a most vulnerable position because it is easy to threaten such a person with further abuse. It is a question of power, and we must get this right. Apparently there is no clear way for individuals—and here I include individual members of staff who know that something is wrong—to make a complaint without fear of their job or their situation being worsened. It is important that we send a clear message on this. The noble Baroness, Lady Tonge, and I have expressed our confusion because some of us understand that individuals cannot take their complaint directly either to the Care Quality Commission or the ombudsman. Who is going to take up such complaints? We need a clear explanation and guidance on exactly what will happen because this is a serious situation where people have almost total power over some of the most vulnerable in our society.