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Medical Profession (Miscellaneous Amendments) Order 2008

I, too, thank the noble Baroness for introducing the order. I wish to raise only a few questions because I have no great objection to it in principle. First, on the issue of the transfer of statutory oversight of medical education to the GMC, I understand—it has been well debated in the House—that the Government’s intention and that of the GMC is to place medical education at the heart of what the GMC does. However, I echo some of the concerns raised by the noble Earl, Lord Howe. How will this change be evaluated and by whom? What would happen if the quality of medical education were to decline or deteriorate? What would happen if the oversight of the quality of medical education were to decline? Those are the questions which arise from what is, in essence, a technical change to the way in which the GMC conducts its business. I make no comment of any substance on the proposals for licences to practise simply because this is not about the details of revalidation, which is the primary concern voiced by noble Lords during the passage of the Bill. There is still as yet no detail and to raise questions at this point would be continuing to grapple with shadows. However, I wish to refer to the issue of senior consultants who did not apply for inclusion on the specialists register and the reinstated provision for them to make a late application. I understand why that should be done—it is desirable that all specialist consultants within the NHS should be on the specialist register; I understand from the Explanatory Memorandum and from the GMC briefing how the situation has arisen in which a small number of people have not been included in the specialist register; and I understand from comments made by Mr Ben Bradshaw in another place yesterday that we are talking about 200 people or fewer. But no one has explained why these people have not registered when registration of this kind is an essential requirement for an NHS consultant and has been so for over a decade; it is not new. I would therefore like to know what has caused this other than, I guess, bloody-mindedness on the part of some people. The figure of James Robertson Justice leaps to mind. It is obvious that this is an integral part of the contract that a specialist must have for an NHS consultant’s post—and such a post is a desirable thing to have. I may be being slightly flippant, but I am just intrigued about why this has happened. If it has happened in a situation which has gone on for over a decade, what assurance will there be that that will change as a result of reinstating this concession?