Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill

The amendment goes to the heart of this legislation. We are all deeply concerned that LINks will not have powers. It is clear that regulations will be written that are likely to restrict, very considerably, what LINks can do in terms of inspection. We are all extremely worried by that. I wish to draw two things to the Minister’s attention. One is that there appears to be a desire to limit the hours when LINks members can inspect or visit. That seems quite serious because it more or less prevents any opportunity for spot checks. If you talk to members of patient forums and people who have been involved in any kind of inspection and monitoring of any service, they will tell you that one thing that you need to have is a right, if you like, to make spot checks to see that things have not been prepared so that they look better than they normally are. I would be very grateful if the noble Baroness could clarify that point in her response. The other thing is a point that I raised at Second Reading with the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, about the idea that on Healthcare Commission inspections, which can be both spot checks and arranged visits, a LINk person or patient representative should go along as part of that team. The noble Lord, Lord Hunt, said that he would take that away and look at it. As far as I am aware, the Healthcare Commission is not opposed to that idea at all. If we really want to strengthen the role of LINks in monitoring and inspecting our services, that is one way to do so, but they need to have a right to inspect when they want as well.