NHS Redress Bill [HL]

My Lords, the Minister is very kind and I thank him for his reply. I should make clear that I have no quarrel with the concept of what one might call an indicative limit. We all agree that the lower value cases should fall within the ambit of this scheme. But the existence of a strictly enforced ceiling will prove a barrier to access to justice for many people. You can easily imagine that, at the start of an investigation, the NHSLA and indeed the patient will believe that the claim falls squarely within the financial ceiling laid down. As the investigation proceeds, however, it may become apparent that the claim is in fact worth rather more than £20,000. If it is going to be worth only a little bit more than £20,000, then it would seem perverse to abandon the process altogether when, without much extra work, an offer could quite easily be made. I note what the Minister said about the clinical negligence scheme for trusts. That may prove a satisfactory safety valve for the type of cases that I have outlined. In the end, however, we come down to the ““suck it and see”” approach that the noble Lord outlined towards the end of his reply. It remains to be seen how this scheme will operate in practice. I have indicated that a bit of flexibility at the outset would not be amiss, but the Government have resisted that view. I can do no more than to sound a warning and, like the Minister, hope that I am wrong. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.