NHS Redress Bill [HL]

I rise to support the amendment moved by the noble Earl, Lord Howe. For those of us on these Benches, this is the crux of our worries, concerns and perhaps even objections to the Bill as drafted. Unless we see an element of independence in the provision, I cannot see how the scheme can be trusted. Mr Raincock’s letter, as quoted by the noble Earl, Lord Howe, makes that case powerfully. The pilot, which was funded and set out by the NHS Litigation Authority, makes it abundantly clear. It worked in a different way and had an independent element. The same is now true in Wales with yet another pilot scheme. What assurance can the Minister give us that there will truly be an independent element in this scheme? The noble Earl, Lord Howe, and my noble friends and I on these Benches part company slightly. He would be content—I am not sure that he would be happy—to see the NHS Litigation Authority as the overall authority for the scheme. We would not. We can envisage a two-stage scheme and expect that, when it came to the actual business of settlement, that would have to be devolved to the NHS Litigation Authority. We therefore do not believe that it can be the overarching authority, because there has to be independence in the investigation and explanation-giving side of things. We hope that the Minister will be able to give us some comfort as we come towards the end of today’s consideration of amendments that there will be an independent element in the way that the scheme works.