Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill

In making my name, I should say that it is Baroness Morgan speaking; my noble friend Baroness Andrews is taking her seat for a moment. I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Low, on his ingenuity in bringing forward this amendment in this way and, perhaps more so, on speaking so eloquently and with great knowledge and depth of understanding about what is an extremely important issue, as he always does when he brings these issues to the attention of the House. I particularly congratulate the noble Lord on highlighting a potentially very positive role for the new LINks in a future where they could be responsible for championing this key issue. I understand that Amendment No. 238LZA—these are amazing titles for amendments—seeks to ensure that LINks have an overview if, for example, a local authority wants to move someone to care home outside the area, or indeed if someone wants to move from one local authority area to another. They should have the right to social mobility. I can confirm that the activities of a LINk, as they are described in paragraphs (a), (b), (c) and (d) of Clause 222(2), apply to care commissioned and provided to people moving their place of ordinary residence into the area. The definition of local care services given in Clause 222(5) relates to care services provided in the authority’s area and care services provided in any place for people from that area. Therefore, anyone living even temporarily within a given local authority area should be able to share their experiences of care services with the LINk for that area, even if the services they receive are from outside that area. Any healthcare commissioned by the PCT will fall under the remit of the corresponding LINk, even if it is provided in, for example, a prison. I know we are going to talk about that later. Turning to Amendment No. 245B, I understand that this amendment is a means to secure social mobility, or to raise the issue of it. Local authorities should be under a duty to co-operate in, for example, the sharing of needs assessments to facilitate and speed up payments if people move from area to area. I thank noble Lords for highlighting these issues around the question of mobility for disabled people and local authorities’ responsibilities in this area. I agree that these are extremely complex and important issues and that they merit more detailed examination. I shall be pleased to take away the points raised by noble Lords today and will ask the Department of Health to discuss them with key organisations, as the noble Lord, Lord Low, has suggested. I know, for example, that the Voluntary Organisations Disability Group is particularly keen to meet to discuss these matters. I shall recommend that such a meeting takes place and shall be happy to bring pressure to bear in that regard or at least, for noble Lords who are discussing the issue here today, to press for significant progress to have been made before Report. With that in mind, I hope that the noble Lord will consider withdrawing his amendment.