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Health and Social Care Bill

I want to add my two pennyworth on this because I agree with the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, that the important issue is that we have to have the legal assessor giving legal advice in the open arena so that everyone can hear what that advice is. Actually, I disagree with the Government’s position here because I do not think that we should have a legal representative acting as the chair at all, even in the pilots. The danger of having a legal representative as the chair is that a lot will take place behind closed doors and will not be open to challenge. What is important in terms of transparency and openness is that people are able to hear, see and challenge the legal advice. That can be done if there is a legal assessor. I also disagree with the noble Earl, Lord Howe, who I think was suggesting that lawyers have better chairing skills. I am not sure that that has been my experience either. On numerous occasions I have represented people at employment tribunals, which are chaired by lawyers. They tend to dominate the proceedings and do not give their colleagues much of an opportunity to participate. Moreover, their empathy with the people appearing before them sometimes leaves something to be desired. Good chairmanship skills are essential, and they come through training. However, what is important is good judgment. If the panel is well balanced, however many people are sitting on it, if they are all participating, that is much more important than trying to fix the chair or suggesting that that person has special knowledge which overrides that of everyone else. I support the noble Baroness, Lady Howarth, and I oppose the amendment tabled by the noble Earl, Lord Howe.