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Health and Social Care Bill

My Lords, I have been egged on to speak by the noble Baroness, Lady Murphy. At Second Reading I supported the idea of the civil standard of proof, based on my more recent experiences of the GMC’s disciplinary committee and particularly its interim orders committee, in which any minor deviance on the part of the doctor was tested on the criminal standard of proof—at least, that was how it felt to me. The civil standard of proof, applied flexibly, is what the doctor will be tested on. I clearly now understand why the GMC has moved to that civil standard of proof, flexibly applied. It should deal with all cases, no matter what the severity of the alleged offence. On that basis I do not support the amendment. We will have to wait and see how the civil standard works.