Compensation Bill [HL]

I am very grateful that we have someone as clever as the noble Viscount, who understands some of these issues. The issue of ““professional”” in the context that we were discussing in our previous debate is about trying to differentiate between what someone does in their working life and outside, and whether, as we know with certain professions—I take the point about the definition of profession—there are areas where people’s private life encroaches on their professional life; in other words that the standards required permeate beyond the professional. We are seeking not to describe those involved in a particular area of work as professionals in the context which the noble Viscount would recognise—for example, doctors or barristers—but rather to distinguish the working day. I understand the grey area within that: that financial mismanagement in other aspects of one’s life may be relevant when considering authorisation. The noble Viscount, as ever, sends me back to my parliamentary counsel with a series of other questions to ensure that the interpretation of the courts is examined and that people do not see themselves as professionals, with the potential that that might bring, if that is not what we were trying to capture in the Bill, which it is not. I am grateful to him and I will pick that point up.