Does my hon. Friend agree that the Government’s arguments stand at odds with our own experience? There have been a number of cases since 1998 where patients or patients’ families, or those supporting patients, have sued the NHS, in whichever guise it happens to be, in relation to the giving...

Does my hon. Friend agree that the Government’s arguments stand at odds with our own experience? There have been a number of cases since 1998 where patients or patients’ families, or those supporting patients, have sued the NHS, in whichever guise it happens to be, in relation to the giving...

Throughout these proceedings, I have always been absolutely satisfied as to the sincerity of the Minister’s explanations, and I am grateful to him for the further minor concession that has been extracted from the Government. I note that last week when I saw the Minister there was mention of putting...

Throughout these proceedings, I have always been absolutely satisfied as to the sincerity of the Minister’s explanations, and I am grateful to him for the further minor concession that has been extracted from the Government. I note that last week when I saw the Minister there was mention of putting...

I will give way to the hon. Gentleman, but then I need to make progress.

I will give way to the hon. Gentleman, but then I need to make progress.

I thank the Minister for giving way. Will he give an indication of when the review might take place? Does he anticipate that it will be after three years, or five years? It is important for him to state that now, and to state the nature of that review; otherwise,...

I thank the Minister for giving way. Will he give an indication of when the review might take place? Does he anticipate that it will be after three years, or five years? It is important for him to state that now, and to state the nature of that review; otherwise,...

I hope that that is not the case. We are trying to meet the requirements placed on us in the discussions and debates in both Houses, and we are trying to accommodate the concerns that have been raised, recognising that the Government’s first viewpoint was that provisions on deaths in...

I hope that that is not the case. We are trying to meet the requirements placed on us in the discussions and debates in both Houses, and we are trying to accommodate the concerns that have been raised, recognising that the Government’s first viewpoint was that provisions on deaths in...

It would be helpful to have some clarification. When the Minister wrote to explain what the Government were seeking to do, he said that they would need to take into account how the legislation works in practice. I understood that to mean the legislation that we are enacting, without the...

It would be helpful to have some clarification. When the Minister wrote to explain what the Government were seeking to do, he said that they would need to take into account how the legislation works in practice. I understood that to mean the legislation that we are enacting, without the...

That certainly is not the case. The debate on the Bill has been conducted in a generous spirit and I hope hon. Members will appreciate that we have tried to meet the concerns that have been expressed. That is reflected in the number of amendments that the Government have accepted...

That certainly is not the case. The debate on the Bill has been conducted in a generous spirit and I hope hon. Members will appreciate that we have tried to meet the concerns that have been expressed. That is reflected in the number of amendments that the Government have accepted...

I am sorry to have to press the Minister on this. Is the implication behind his comments that, if the forum were to come up with conclusions that appealed to the Government, they might never enact the relevant statutory instrument? There is another way of doing this. The Government will...

I am sorry to have to press the Minister on this. Is the implication behind his comments that, if the forum were to come up with conclusions that appealed to the Government, they might never enact the relevant statutory instrument? There is another way of doing this. The Government will...

I do not want to have an argument with the hon. Gentleman about the numbers. We are seeing self-inflicted deaths at the rate of more than six a month now. If one looks at the figures over the last 10 years, there was a dip in the early 2000s, but,...

I do not want to have an argument with the hon. Gentleman about the numbers. We are seeing self-inflicted deaths at the rate of more than six a month now. If one looks at the figures over the last 10 years, there was a dip in the early 2000s, but,...

Will the Minister ask the review to consider whether the power that Liberal Democrat and Conservative Members wish to see in the Bill would be helpful?

Will the Minister ask the review to consider whether the power that Liberal Democrat and Conservative Members wish to see in the Bill would be helpful?

I am sure that the chair of the forum will be robust, as he already has been in talking to me, about what he would regard as the details of how we should reform measures. We want to make the review work and I would hope that the forum will...

I am sure that the chair of the forum will be robust, as he already has been in talking to me, about what he would regard as the details of how we should reform measures. We want to make the review work and I would hope that the forum will...

May I have one more go at the Minister on this point? In Glasgow tonight there will be 60,000 Spanish football fans. When they travel by the airlines they will be owed a duty of care by the operators. When they go to sleep tonight in their hotel rooms they...

May I have one more go at the Minister on this point? In Glasgow tonight there will be 60,000 Spanish football fans. When they travel by the airlines they will be owed a duty of care by the operators. When they go to sleep tonight in their hotel rooms they...

We have to remember that in the Bill the duty of care has to be seen in the context of a gross breach of procedure. Hon. Members have understandably focused on deaths in custody, but we must see the Bill in its wider context, and putting that measure in the...

We have to remember that in the Bill the duty of care has to be seen in the context of a gross breach of procedure. Hon. Members have understandably focused on deaths in custody, but we must see the Bill in its wider context, and putting that measure in the...

I, too, hope that the House does not reject the amendments in this group that the other place has sent us for consideration. I shall make three brief comments about those amendments and the Government’s amendment in lieu. First, I join in the general acclaim for the way in which...

I, too, hope that the House does not reject the amendments in this group that the other place has sent us for consideration. I shall make three brief comments about those amendments and the Government’s amendment in lieu. First, I join in the general acclaim for the way in which...

I thank all hon. Members for the quality of the debate and for their welcome for the way in which the Government have listened to what has been said in the various debates in both Houses. I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Hendon (Mr. Dismore) and...

I thank all hon. Members for the quality of the debate and for their welcome for the way in which the Government have listened to what has been said in the various debates in both Houses. I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Hendon (Mr. Dismore) and...

I think that the hon. and learned Gentleman is mixing up two different things. The measure would not have provided that. While it would have provided a criminal remedy to punish those involved, it would probably not have given answers to what happened. The Government’s proposal, with, for example, new...

I think that the hon. and learned Gentleman is mixing up two different things. The measure would not have provided that. While it would have provided a criminal remedy to punish those involved, it would probably not have given answers to what happened. The Government’s proposal, with, for example, new...

I suspect that it probably will. While I take on board the hon. Gentleman’s assertion that my argument is marginally off-beam, given that the Bill provides for a post-event criminal procedure, I suggest that the Bill could none the less provide a deterrent through an anticipatory effect. The Minister argued—it...

I suspect that it probably will. While I take on board the hon. Gentleman’s assertion that my argument is marginally off-beam, given that the Bill provides for a post-event criminal procedure, I suggest that the Bill could none the less provide a deterrent through an anticipatory effect. The Minister argued—it...

I just want to put the record straight as the Joint Committee on Human Rights understands it from the information that we were given by the Government and that is recorded in our seventh report of 2006-07 in paragraph 2.2.1.1. That paragraph states: "““there were 67 apparent self-inflicted deaths among...

I just want to put the record straight as the Joint Committee on Human Rights understands it from the information that we were given by the Government and that is recorded in our seventh report of 2006-07 in paragraph 2.2.1.1. That paragraph states: "““there were 67 apparent self-inflicted deaths among...

I fully appreciate what the right hon. Member for Southampton, Itchen (Mr. Denham) has said about his motives for supporting the Government in resisting the Lords amendment. I also accept that politics is largely a game of compromise, and that the best is very often the enemy of the good....

I fully appreciate what the right hon. Member for Southampton, Itchen (Mr. Denham) has said about his motives for supporting the Government in resisting the Lords amendment. I also accept that politics is largely a game of compromise, and that the best is very often the enemy of the good....

I am grateful for that intervention because I totally agree. The hon. Gentleman was, I think, echoing a speech by Lord Ramsbotham which he began by stating those two key principles. The hon. Member for Hendon, who chairs the Joint Committee on Human Rights, often focuses on principles, and the...

I am grateful for that intervention because I totally agree. The hon. Gentleman was, I think, echoing a speech by Lord Ramsbotham which he began by stating those two key principles. The hon. Member for Hendon, who chairs the Joint Committee on Human Rights, often focuses on principles, and the...