Health Bill [HL]

My Lords, I very much appreciate the Government’s acceptance of the underlying principle of the amendment carried by your Lordships on Report, and of course I accept the reformulation proposed by the Minister. The fear that some people had that an amendment of this kind might open the floodgates to litigation against the NHS was never one that I considered to be well founded. I still do not believe that. It would have validity if the scope of these amendments were to extend more widely than they do—if, for example, they were to embrace specific rights. However, in so far as the guiding principles are already underpinned by existing primary legislation, there cannot reasonably be a fear that, by linking the constitution directly to the parliamentary process, we will be creating the potential for a lawyers’ charter. As I said, I am most grateful to the Minister for having given this matter his close consideration and for having brought forward these amendments. I hope that they will be accepted.