I, too, pay tribute to the work of the hon. Member for Stafford (Jeremy Lefroy). The diligence and tenacity with which he has pursued the Bill, and the collegiate nature in which he has done so, are to his eternal credit.
Members across the House, many professional bodies outside this place and others support the principles and aims of the Bill. Harm-free care is something to which everybody in our NHS aspires. Although it is something that, frankly, we should take for granted, it is something that any health care system in any part of the world must work tirelessly to achieve. Credit must go to the NHS staff, both clinical and non-clinical, who work tirelessly, often in very trying circumstances, to deliver high-quality care. I am sure that Members from all parties will echo that sentiment.
I do not wish to repeat what I said on Second Reading, in Committee or on Report, so I will keep my remarks relatively brief. The key principles of harm-free care, data sharing, and consistent objectives for regulatory authorities have been welcomed by the Opposition, and I will touch briefly on the why those things are important.
I have already mentioned harm-free care, and the Bill will give power to the Secretary of State to bring forward regulations to ensure that high-quality, safe care can be delivered. A wide-ranging power is being granted to the Secretary of State, and I welcome the Government’s assurances that any measures introduced will be subject to full parliamentary scrutiny, as is proper with such issues.
We have already debated the benefits and risks of data-sharing, and Third Reading is not the place to do so again. I have been clear about the benefits that can be realised through effective data-sharing, although there are still concerns, many of which I raised on Second Reading. It is important that the national data guardian is put on a legal footing to ensure that any issues that arise can be dealt with effectively and swiftly.
On the regulation of health and social care professions, it is logical to have a consistent overarching objective for regulatory bodies, and right that that objective is patient safety. A number of bodies continue to express concerns about a possible conflict between the practical implications of a number of those objectives, and I ask the Government to keep that under review to ensure that the Bill is effective.
The issue of public confidence runs through the entire Bill, and the hon. Member for Stafford touched on that in some detail. We all want to have confidence that the care we receive is of the highest quality, and to have confidence in the integrity and security of the data and private information that the NHS holds about us. We need to know that our data are used only with our permission and for the betterment of health and social care provision. Finally, we want confidence that doctors, nurses and others are properly supported and regulated to ensure that best practice is always followed. The Bill should help to ensure public confidence in those areas, which is why Labour will support it today.
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