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Health Bill [HL]

In response to the amendment tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Wilkins, I want to point out a particular problem. Some organisations, such as In Control, have a wealth of experience in this area. So, too, do other organisations, in a different way. My former employer, Age Concern, has a tremendous amount of experience in enabling older people to access services, just like any number of other voluntary and carers’ organisations. However, those organisations have a direct interest in these pilots. In Control is a social enterprise and is therefore a business, and has an interest in seeing that the pilot work well. So, too, do some of the service providers. I do not think that those financial interests, those conflicts of interest, are wrong; they are just a fact of life. In a pilot, however, they and the role that they play need to be acknowledged. I hope that the noble Baroness would agree with me that, in the design and review of the pilot, that very particular conflict of interest, which is probably not equivalent to the conflicts of interest that the NHS and local authorities have in this, is there and is picked up and reflected in the pilot programme.