NHS Redress Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 27:"Page 3, line 43, at end insert—" ““(   )   A scheme must provide that where a settlement agreement relates to a child or an incapacitated adult (as defined by Part 21.1(2) of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 (S.I. 1998/3132)) and includes the payment of financial compensation, the agreement is subject to the approval of the court.”” The noble Earl said: My Lords, we return to an amendment that I tabled in Grand Committee which, in common with a similar amendment tabled by the Liberal Democrats, covered the issue of children and incapacitated adults who are offered a settlement of the claim under the redress scheme. My contention was and is that there should be a specific requirement in the Bill that any such settlement agreement offered to a child or incapacitated adult should be approved by the court before it is concluded. Indeed, where appropriate, it should be for the court to invest and manage any funds on behalf of that person. In Grand Committee, the Minister said that he had no quarrel with the intention behind the amendment and that it was the Government’s intention to incorporate the substance of the amendment into the scheme. I welcome that assurance. However, we are dealing here with a fundamental legal principle. Any child or adult who is unable to deal with his or her own legal affairs and has assets of value is protected from unscrupulous adults who may use those assets for their own benefit. The amendment is designed to ensure that such people have exactly the same protection under the redress scheme. That is not an onerous obligation. The procedures employed by the courts for dealing with such applications are designed to operate with the minimum of formal requirements. I believe that no issue of principle divides us on this, but the noble Baroness may like to note that when I met the Law Society, it was adamant that, in its view, this was an issue of such importance as to warrant being written into the Bill, not simply regulations. From a body of the standing of the Law Society, I take that message to heart and I therefore beg to move.