Health and Social Care Bill

My Lords, the noble Baroness, Lady Thornton, made some very complimentary comments about me at the beginning of her remarks and I thank her for those. Therefore, it is a cause for sadness to me that we have reached this final stage of the Bill in a climate of antagonism rather than of the mutual good will that typically characterises the end of a long parliamentary process in this House. That good will is still present, but it has perhaps been temporarily overshadowed. I am sorry that the noble Baroness, for whom I have enormous respect, has taken the unusual step of tabling this Motion. It will not surprise her to hear that I disagree utterly with her summary of what this Bill will achieve, but it is not my intention to rehearse the arguments for it all over again. I did that at Second Reading and throughout subsequent stages of the Bill, when we debated at length and in depth the detailed provisions within it. It is disappointing, too, that this Motion, so negative in its tone and content, is the only amendment which the Official Opposition have seen fit to table on our final day of debate. It stands in marked contrast to the highly constructive approach taken to Third Reading by Peers on all Benches, and indeed to the approach of thoughtful testing and challenge to the Government which the Labour Front Bench has adopted hitherto. I believe that we have used today's Third Reading to good and positive effect. The noble Baroness, on the other hand, has chosen today to stand aside from that approach. Our debates over the past six months have taken a total of 25 days. Over the course of that time the Bill has changed a great deal. From every side of the House amendments have been moved and many of them have been accepted, on all key aspects of our proposals. Indeed, if we cast our minds back to last October, to the distant land of Second Reading, I am reminded of the speech of the noble Lord, Lord Warner, who said this: "““I hope we will find the Minister in a listening and negotiating mood. Perhaps he will recall that when I took another rather controversial health Bill through this House, on foundation trusts in 2003, I moved or accepted some 200 amendments. So that is the benchmark for judging the flexibility of the noble Earl opposite””.—[Official Report, 11/10/11; col. 1547.]" In this House I have moved or accepted some 375 amendments, including accepting amendments from all sides of this House. Indeed, I am aware that this represents a quarter of all amendments that have been tabled. We have made a Bill whose key principles command wide acceptance—more joined-up, clearer and, in certain aspects, less risky. That is greatly to the credit of noble Lords and to this Chamber. The scrutiny and improvement which has gone on has shown your Lordships' House working at its very best and I thank noble Lords involved for their constructive participation and debate. There are too many for me to mention by name. However, I will make one exception, because I would especially like to thank my noble friend Lady Northover for her staunch support from the Front Bench, particularly in the light of her other commitments within this House. My final word of gratitude, however, must go to the Bill team, who have been outstanding throughout the entire parliamentary process—not only in support of Ministers but also being available to assist Peers of all parties and of none in clarifying, informing and explaining whenever they have been asked to do so. They have been tireless and supremely professional over many months and they deserve our warm thanks. This is not Second Reading. It is not the time to grind axes. It is time to reflect on the past six months, to await the consideration that the other place will give to the substantial efforts that have gone on in this Chamber and to look forward to the close engagement between the Government and all our key stakeholders on how we can collectively make the most of the opportunities that the Bill presents. I will oppose the noble Baroness's amendment, and I strongly urge noble Lords to do likewise.