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Health Professions (Hearing Aid Dispensers) Order 2009

My Lords, I am chair of the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence, which is keen to ensure that public protection issues are properly dealt with. The CHRE seeks an assurance from the Government that the HPC will be required to address, through its appropriate committees, the case of any HAC registrant who currently has a sanction imposed on them. It is important that the HPC committees have the full range of sanctions available to deal with the case appropriately and are not bound to follow the HAC’s decisions. This is vital if a new system of regulation for hearing aid dispensers is to offer improved levels of public protection. I therefore want to put a very specific question to the Minister: can she confirm that it is Parliament’s view that when professionals transfer from the Hearing Aid Council register to the Health Professions Council register—or, indeed, in any similar situation in the future because I think we are talking about a principle here—it expects the HPC to exercise its judgment in reviewing whether sanctions imposed by the Hearing Aid Council on an individual are adequate for public protection? I also offer my congratulations to the Minister for her speedy, but clear, exposition and to the Hearing Aid Council and the HPC for their work on this.