---

Personal Care at Home Bill

I support the idea behind the hon. Gentleman's statement that what we ultimately need is a comprehensive model for providing social care, and I have made it clear in my remarks on the Bill that more finance from people themselves is going to be necessary if we are to have that. However, will he confirm whether amendment 12 is a probing amendment? My understanding is that the proposal would give the Secretary of State power to introduce such new arrangements by diktat, without ever having to come back to the House for a proper debate or to discuss a new Bill in future. That seems to me to be an awful lot of power over an awful lot of expenditure to put in the hands of a Secretary of State, even one who is as good as our current Secretary of State.