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Health and Social Care Bill

This has been a good debate. I do not feel I need to apologise for having tabled the amendments. The debate has fulfilled its purposes because it has drawn out the underpinning logic and arguments for the policy as well as some of the countervailing arguments. I am grateful particularly to the Minister for her reply. I say to the noble Lord, Lord Walton, that while he felt he had to come out in disagreement with me, I am not sure that he needed to do so. It is not necessary to disagree with a question, and a question is what I was asking. That question was neither unnecessary nor silly, and I am glad that the noble Baronesses, Lady Finlay, Lady Howarth and Lady Golding, felt able to come out in support of it. The Government’s policy was originally to have a clear separation between fact-finding and fault-finding, precisely because of public perceptions, a point powerfully made by the noble Baroness, Lady Howarth. If we were honest, we would admit that part of the deal between the GMC and the Government was that if a separate adjudication body were to be created—namely, the OHPA—that body should have a duty to take account of the GMC’s guidance, otherwise I doubt whether the GMC would ever have agreed to a separate body. I acknowledged in my earlier remarks that the deal that has been reached may well be a reasonable approach. Indeed, if the argument of the noble Lord, Lord Walton, were to be taken strictly, the OHPA would have been made to follow the guidance to the letter, but it will not be required to do so. The debate has probably run its course. I shall read carefully what the Minister has said, and it may be that we shall not have to return to this matter at a later stage. For the time being, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. [Amendment No. 119 not moved.]