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Health and Social Care Bill

I am sure that the Committee will be grateful to the Minister for his explanation of the amendments. In his absence, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Darzi, for writing to me about them in advance. I have no difficulty with the principle of what is proposed, which appears to be potentially beneficial to registered hearing aid dispensers as well as their customers. As has been said, the professional bodies most closely associated with audiology are in favour. I have only three questions. The first concerns regulatory clarity. One feature of the proposals is that complaints by consumers will no longer be directed toward a single body, as they are at the moment. Complaints that fall under the heading of consumer protection will fall to the Office of Fair Trading or trading standards officers. Complaints about fitness-to-practise matters and professional standards will fall to the HPC. Is the Minister satisfied that the new system will be simple for the consumer to understand and navigate? An ordinary man or woman, especially if they are elderly and frail, wants a straightforward process. This aspect of the changes introduces greater complexity and scope of confusion. My second question relates to the transition. If there are fitness-to-practise cases in train when the transfer to the HPC is effected, how will they be concluded? On complaints, will the Government ensure that there is the minimum hiatus between one set of arrangements and the next? It would be unacceptable for consumers if the HAC’s work in dealing with complaints was suddenly terminated before the complaints were resolved, only then for the matters in question to be dealt with from scratch either by the HPC or one or other of the trading standards bodies. How will the transition be achieved smoothly so as not to disadvantage the consumer with undue delays? My third question relates to the employees of the Hearing Aid Council itself. How many employees are there? Are there new jobs for them to go to, and will their employment rights be protected under TUPE arrangements if they transfer to the HPC?