Health Bill

The argument on this amendment seems to be ranging far and wide. I listened to the noble Lord, Lord Naseby, with great care, as I did on Second Reading, in relation to the rights and freedoms that he obviously wants to defend. However, he gave me great cause for concern. I welcome the Bill and believe that it is now in pretty much the form that I would wish it to be in. However, the noble Lord worried me when he talked about people coming into the house and being able to smoke when they are delivering services. As I have often said to the noble Earl, Lord Howe, I am not a lawyer. I do not know whether this provision, if it were in the Bill, would enable the plumber, the domestic—my wonderful domestic does not smoke, thank heaven, otherwise she would not be with me—or the electrician to say that they had a right to smoke on my premises when they entered my home. If the provision were included in the Bill, it would be a great worry to me. I happen to be a great believer in regulation, having worked in services that have mainly been delivered by regulation—the children’s, disability and telecoms services. I have found that regulations have been extraordinarily helpful, particularly when they have been consulted on in detail. I will not quibble about statistics today; I have given them in several other places and I always give my sources, as the noble Lord, Lord Naseby knows. However, I would like to say one other thing. If we are going to discuss matters in this kind of detail, we are not going to get through the Bill in the time allotted. I am not a politician, but I wonder whether we are trying to talk out some things. I ask that very sincerely of the noble Lord, Lord Naseby. I would like to be reassured so that I know where I stand; otherwise, I shall have to go and get on with something else.