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Health and Social Care Bill

I am most grateful for the Minister’s clarification. I can see that the wording of my amendment would almost impose micromanagement, which would certainly not be appropriate. I feel somewhat reassured by the assurances that are on the record about how the council should work and what must be in the annual reports. However, I should like to pick up on two important points raised by the noble Earl, Lord Howe, in relation to investigation. I wonder whether that part of the clause needs to be reworded to provide clarification for just the same reasons. The current wording almost implies the potential for micromanagement and suggests that something could be used later in an appeal against a decision. My other concern relates to the devolved Administrations. I congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Cumberlege, as I am usually pretty vigilant about devolved Administrations and I missed a trick here. I can see that there would be merit in not only referring to consultation but saying that there must be agreement between the Health Ministers in the devolved Administrations, because health is devolved. The overseeing of the registration of healthcare professionals is a UK-wide responsibility and requires consistency across the whole of the UK for the way in which they work, in whichever system they work. We have four different healthcare systems emerging now, so if the Secretary of State had powers left in here I would wish the Secretary of State to have to consult. I feel that I have to defend my Minister of Health in the National Assembly for Wales, with whom I had a constructive meeting yesterday and who is very engaged in issues for healthcare professions at a local level within Wales. It would be hard, within a devolved pattern of healthcare delivery, to find that there was a consultation but that, even if the Minister disagreed strongly, something was somehow imposed. But with those caveats around the amendments that are not mine, I shall not press my amendment.