Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill

moved Amendment No. 238ZFC: 238ZFC: Clause 194, page 134, line 39, at end insert— ““( ) the standards committee of the relevant authority;”” The noble Baroness said: Amendment No. 238ZFC probes why new Section 65A is required. Is sending a report to the standards committee provided for somewhere else? If not, is it required, or is it covered by the reference to the monitoring officer in Section 66(2)? Amendment No. 238ZFD deals with Section 66(6) of the current Act, which allows ethical standards officers referring matters to monitoring officers to give directions on the way in which those matters are to be dealt with. I realise what a significant power that might be. I had always understood that the role of the ethical standards officer was primarily investigative rather than about applying sanctions. Certainly under the new regime, if this means that the ESO can tell the monitoring officer how to deal with something, it does not reflect the reference to local determination and all that surrounds that. I beg to move.