Health Bill [HL]

I take a rather different view of the handbook. At the Committee’s last sitting, I asked a question about the handbook and who it was guiding. The Minister said that it was very much for patients. Having now read it pretty thoroughly, it is clearly a handbook for a whole range of people, giving them the guidance they need to carry out their tasks. We could have a debate about what is or is not ““guidance””, but the handbook also contains clear specifics on matters such as the national social partnership forum. It deals also with other relationships and has other bits on legislation and health and safety. In five years, those matters could change quite significantly. My concern is that the handbook should be constantly updated and somebody should keep their mind on the issues. As for whether there should be an overall review, which is what the noble Baroness, Lady Barker, is talking about, I absolutely agree. To get an overall picture, you need more information and a longer time period. However, my question for the Minister is how this document will be kept up to date. What is the mandate for its use? How will the Government ensure that everyone to whom it relates is quite clear about its status and their responsibility to use it? How much data do we need to review it? I apologise to the noble Baroness for using the debate on her amendment to ask a series of other questions.