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Personal Care at Home Bill

The most reverend Primate raises an entirely fair point. He will forgive me for saying he did not take part in the previous debates. Had he done so, he would have seen that noble Lords in all parts of the House have major objections to this Bill on grounds of both principle and practicality. My own disagreement on point of principle is not that I do not believe that older people need personal care but that this Bill currently stands to favour many people who can pay for their care themselves, rather than targeting those who cannot, and I rather fear that will be at the expense of services for people who are poorest in our society. So it has been a matter of both principle and practice and I wish to test the opinion of the House. Division on Amendment 7 Contents 125; Not-Contents 112. Amendment 7 agreed.