Health and Social Care Bill

Debate between Lord Beecham and Lord Mawhinney

Monday 19th December 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Mawhinney]

I am most grateful to the noble Lord. I think he knows that I listen carefully to him when he is on his feet. The essence of a democracy is that people are elected to represent their community. I can see an argument for having some professionally trained people adding their expertise, because it might be a stretch to expect locally elected people to command the technicalities of a professional view, but given that commitment of democracy, why does the noble Lord think it necessary to have so many other people representing—in the best possible spirit, I hasten to add—specialist vocations or vested interests?

[Lord Beecham]

In the first place, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Mawhinney, for recognising when I am on my feet, given that there is not much of me to be seen. In relation to his question, I am not suggesting that they should be voting members. That is the point. There is a difference. The voting members—I do not mean executive members—should be confined to elected councillors and those representing the other partners, the clinical commissioning groups and the trusts. It is a partnership arrangement. You have this sort of arrangement in care trusts and the like. It is an acceptable one, but at the very least there should be equality of arms between the elected members and those from other organisations.

Health and Social Care Bill

Debate between Lord Beecham and Lord Mawhinney

Wednesday 30th November 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Beecham]

The noble Baroness encapsulates in about two minutes the thrust of what I said in five; she is precisely right. There are clearly going to be costs—redundancy costs, relocation costs and property costs—which we have not yet seen clarified in the case of the Audit Commission which I mentioned despite the fact that the proposal has been around for 18 months. It would be enlightening if the Minister responded to my question and that of the noble Baroness.

[Lord Mawhinney]

I share the view expressed by the noble Lord, Lord Beecham, of extending appreciation to the noble Lord, Lord Warner, for raising this issue because it seems to me to be one of some significance. Those of us who strongly support my noble friend and what the Government are doing in establishing commissioning-led services do so because, first, we think patients are likely to get a better deal out of it than they get under the present bureaucratic system and, secondly, because we have concerns about the efficiencies of SHAs and PCTs; in my case, that relates particularly to the activities of the East of England Strategic Health Authority.

I hope my noble friend will not deem a probing amendment about cost to be antagonistic or inappropriate. My reaction to the amendment of the noble Lord, Lord Warner, in its present form is much the same as the reaction of the noble Lord, Lord Beecham. I like the idea, I think it is helpful to this Committee to have more information although I am not sure that this form is actually the way in which that should be done. I hope my noble friend will be as generous as he instinctively and normally is in giving us as much information about costs as he can. If 30 per cent seems very high to him, as it does to me given the realities of setting up a new system, perhaps he would indicate what savings he thinks might be achievable if there was a sufficiently stringent regime in place to control costs.