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Health and Social Care Bill

I shall start with amendments Nos. 37 and 39, which ensure that dead bodies are disposed of respectfully. The former wording of the clause did not really protect the humane treatment of dead bodies, and I am sure that many in this Chamber would like to think that they will be buried or cremated, rather than disposed of. I would particularly like to thank those in the other place for picking up on this point. Conservatives in the Grand Committee commented that the insensitivity should be addressed, and I welcome those amendments. Amendment No. 38 makes available a right of review for special restrictions or requirements"““imposed by virtue of a decision taken under the regulations””." Proposed new subsection (6B) would provide that where the restriction or requirement imposed was isolation, detention or quarantine of a person, the maximum period prior to review, and the maximum interval between reviews, would be 28 days. In addition, the review would be automatic for such measures. I fully support that amendment. In Committee, we had considerable discussion about issues relating to detention. I am pleased to see that the Minister has recognised some of the concerns about safeguards on the power to detain, isolate and quarantine people. The measures will restrict periods of detention, isolation or quarantine under the domestic regulation-making power to a maximum period of 28 days before a review must take place. We do not want a situation where people are held in isolation or quarantine indefinitely at the mercy of a periodic review. I therefore welcome the extra safeguards that the amendment will give to the liberties of those detained. The automatic review is most welcome, and it will not depend on an application. As I said, considerable concern was raised in Committee about the powers, and I know that organisations such as the National AIDS Trust have particular concerns on the matter. I am pleased that the Minister heeded some of the concerns raised in Committee. There has been a lot of discussion in the House on detention recently, and it is curious in some ways that the measures in this Bill received almost no attention. The powers are quite draconian; they may be necessary in certain circumstances, but we need to ensure that the public are protected. Amendments Nos. 40 and 41 will amend the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 to limit the period for which a part 2A order could impose detention, isolation or quarantine of a person to a maximum of 28 days. The amendments will also limit any extension of those measures to no more than 28 days, and provide a power to shorten the maximum periods further by regulation. I am pleased that the amendment will restrict the period of any extension of a justice of the peace order for detention, isolation or quarantine to no more than 28 days at a time. Once again, that will help to safeguard the human rights of those who have been detained, and it will protect the public from any miscarriages of justice. Consequently, I fully support that amendment. There is also a provision to shorten the maximum periods by regulation. If there is an opportunity to do so, and the 28 days is not found to be necessary in practice, I hope that the Minister will take up that option. Lords amendments Nos. 42 to 47 are largely technical. As someone who has not been a Member of Parliament for very long, I find it disappointing that such technicalities are not ironed out earlier. My hon. Friend the Member for Eddisbury (Mr. O'Brien) said in his remarks on the first group of amendments that much parliamentary time could have been saved by introducing such measures when the detail had been properly worked out. The group that we are considering is entitled, ““Public health protection””, and public health staff will be greatly exercised by the implementation of some of the powers. The number of public health staff working in the NHS has more than halved in the past 10 years, since the Government came to power. In 1997, there were 3,000-odd key non-consultant public health staff, including nurses, nursing assistants and other key public health support workers. By 2006, that figure had fallen to 1,362—a 57 per cent. cut. As the amendments point out, public health staff are crucial to implementing some of the powers and ensuring public safety, yet a 57 per cent. cut in staff means that they have less time to exercise those powers. Indeed, in 2002, Derek Wanless served a warning on the Prime Minister that a failure to tackle public health challenges would contribute to an extra cost of up to £30 billion a year by 2022. The Prime Minister's failure to tackle them forced the Government's chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson to raise the alarm last July that the country was following the Wanless report's worst case scenario. He noted:"““There is strong anecdotal evidence from within the NHS which tells a consistent story for public health of poor morale, declining numbers and inadequate recruitment and budgets being raided so solve financial deficits in the acute sector.””" Obesity rates, sexually transmitted infections and substance misuse are all rising. Indeed, since 1997, the proportion of boys aged two to 15 who are either overweight or obese has increased by 33 per cent. I recognise that the Bill contains provisions to do something to address that problem through weighing and measuring children. However, the statistics are shocking. The position has been exacerbated by the Government's abandonment in 1999 of the Conservative Government's targets of reducing obesity rates in the general population to 6 per cent. among men and 8 per cent. among women. Figures have recently been produced on sexually transmitted infections. Since 1997, cases of syphilis have increased by 1,654 per cent. Cases of gonorrhoea have increased by 44 per cent., of chlamydia by 148 per cent., of herpes by 17 per cent., of genital warts by 17 per cent. and of HIV by 11 per cent. The Minister may laugh, but I doubt whether it is a laughing matter for those suffering from a sexually transmitted disease or those involved in public health protection who are trying to deal with the problems, which are not only serious but increasing.