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Health and Social Care Bill

My Lords, I support the amendment in the name of the noble Earl, Lord Howe. He rightly highlighted the need to gain the confidence of the public and the profession as regards the new regulatory changes. There will be many changes and hiccups along the way, because that is the nature of changing regulation. If we do not ensure that there is a balance of members on panels, there is a real danger that decisions will be subject to appeal and that the credibility of the processes will be called into question. I am afraid that I do not share the Government’s confidence that including this matter in guidance or in regulations for the healthcare profession will ensure that it will be dealt with. It depends how that guidance is written and on other things that are going on that day, including the number of people who cannot attend. I can see the sense behind the amendment in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Gardner of Parkes. The difficulty is that it may not be applicable to all the regulators across all the healthcare professions, because the way in which people are currently appointed to the regulators differs. I have a reservation about this amendment, but perhaps the Minister will be able to clarify whether the noble Baroness has something important before us today.