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Health and Social Care Bill

moved Amendment No. 60: 60: Clause 124, page 69, line 33, leave out ““or disposal of dead bodies or”” and insert ““, burial or cremation of dead bodies or the handling, transport or disposal of ”” The noble Lord said: My Lords, it will be convenient also to consider government Amendments Nos. 62 to 68. As the noble Baroness, Lady Stern, has tabled amendments to government Amendment No. 62, I will wait for her to set out her position on those amendments before responding to them. I turn first to Amendments Nos. 62, 64, 65 and 68. I recognise that there were concerns about whether the safeguards in the Bill were strong enough in relation to the powers to detain, isolate or quarantine individuals where they refuse to take action to protect others voluntarily. While I did feel that the Bill as drafted contained sufficient safeguards, I have looked carefully at how I might be able to provide additional reassurances to noble Lords. I have tabled three government amendments to introduce further safeguards around time limits for orders and extensions of orders. These amendments, first, restrict the periods of any detention, isolation or quarantine measure under the domestic regulation-making power to maximum periods of 28 days before a review must take place. This then mirrors the arrangements already in the Bill for the justice of the peace powers. Secondly, they restrict the period of any extension of a justice of the peace order to no more than 28 days at a time. Thirdly, they make the first version of regulations dealing with time periods for orders and extensions of orders other than for detention, isolation and quarantine subject to the affirmative resolution procedure, so that Parliament can debate those provisions. I should now like to take the opportunity to make a further two commitments on the record for safeguards which will be included in the regulations. These additional safeguards are designed to ensure that there is transparency about how these orders are used, and that even the most vulnerable person who has an order made against him will be able to get any help and support he needs. Noble Lords have convincingly argued that it would be beneficial to have a central record kept of all orders made by justices of the peace. As I said in Grand Committee, the Department of Health has already agreed with the Health Protection Agency that it will set up a monitoring system for England within its standard operating procedures. I can now make a commitment that the regulations will require the local authority to report the making of an order to the HPA, in line with its existing duty to co-operate with the HPA, as set out in Section 5 of the Health Protection Agency Act 2004. I should also point out that guidance will be produced to accompany the legislation and assist relevant stakeholders in understanding their powers, duties and responsibilities. Noble Lords were also concerned about the needs of vulnerable individuals who may be placed under an order. To enhance the existing safeguards, I am also committing to place in regulations a duty on local authorities to ensure that a person who has an order made against him is made aware of his rights, relevant support services and how to access them. I turn now to government Amendments Nos. 60, 63, 66 and 67. Noble Lords raised some very important points in Grand Committee about the provisions allowing a justice of the peace to order the disposal of dead bodies where this is necessary to protect public health. Having carefully considered the views expressed in Grand Committee, I do not think that the Bill as drafted was as clear as it could be about what is intended by these provisions. Let me clarify this now. A dead body is either cremated or buried. In some cases it may be necessary to specify one method over the other, or to specify the manner in which burial or cremation should take place. For example, if a body was heavily contaminated with radioactive material and could not be safely cremated, it might need to be buried in an appropriately designed coffin so that the radioactive material was sufficiently contained. I have therefore tabled government Amendments Nos. 60 and 63 to make clear in primary legislation our intention that destruction or disposal of a dead body should only be by cremation or burial. Disposal of dead bodies is a sensitive issue. I agreed fully with the concerns raised by the noble Earl, Lord Howe, about the distress that this may cause relatives and the need to make sure that they are both informed and have a right to challenge such an order. I have therefore tabled government Amendments Nos. 66 and 67 to require the Secretary of State or Welsh Ministers to make regulations setting out who is to be notified when a local authority applies for a justice of the peace order. It is my intention that these regulations will require local authorities to endeavour to notify the next of kin where an order involves a dead body. I also intend explicitly to add in regulations ““next of kin”” to the list of affected people who can make an application. This will ensure that the ambiguity surrounding the issue of ownership of a dead body does not prevent relatives applying to vary or revoke an order in relation to the deceased. I hope that noble Lords will feel that I have brought forward a substantial package of measures to address the concerns raised in Grand Committee and that I have provided adequate reassurance on a number of important points. I beg to move.