Health Bill

I support the noble Earl. He will choose what to do with his amendment, but should he wish to press it at a later stage, I would be happy to support him. We have probably got as far on this as we can go, but I want to make the point that in the devolved administrations in Wales and Scotland the importance of ensuring free general access to ophthalmic services has been recognised. Such access leads to early detection of a range of conditions that only a qualified optometrist can find. Therefore, it is a beneficial investment not only in eye care but also in wider general health. I intend never to play off administrations against each other, but I believe that it is worth tracking what happens in the devolved administrations to see whether their strategies work better or more effectively than ours, which does not screen the whole population and is therefore bound to miss some people and some conditions that could be detected. I think we have gone as far as we can go on the issue this afternoon, so I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.