UK Parliament / Open data

Welfare Reform Bill

The noble Countess emphasises a good point. It is obviously important that healthcare professionals are aware of that. I am sure that their expertise would take account of it, but it is important. It is certainly part of the expertise that must be built upon and the data shared, as the noble Lord, Lord Addington, said. The noble Lord, Lord Skelmersdale, raised the issue of when the next PCA will happen. It will be timed as advised by the healthcare professional, depending on the condition and when it is expected to change. It will be a judgment made in individual cases. Reverting to the arguments of the noble Lord, Lord Kirkwood, on whether people have the time to look at individual cases promptly, we visited the Pathways to Work programme at Basildon a couple of weeks ago. We saw some data on how they had been dealing with the situation. Some of the condition management arrangements were truly impressive, specifically tailored to the individuals and moving them closer to the workplace in a profound way. I certainly encourage anybody who has not had the chance to engage with these opportunities to do so, so that they can see the impact upon people up close. I have perhaps not dealt sufficiently with the issue raised by the noble Lord, Lord Addington, on the availability of data and how best practice is to be shared. There is probably no quick answer to all of that. It is like any situation in which services are being delivered: you need to ensure that there are processes in place to share expertise and best practice. We will be coming on to the contractors later in Committee, and how they will ensure that best practice is used and properly shared. However, it is quite a wide issue, and that answer is probably inadequate for the moment. Perhaps we might seek to address that in more detail at a later stage. Accordingly, I hope that the noble Lord will consider withdrawing the amendment.

About this proceeding contribution

Reference

689 c37-8GC 

Session

2006-07

Chamber / Committee

House of Lords Grand Committee
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