Health Bill [HL]

The purpose of the amendment is to place a duty on the Secretary of State to lay a copy of any revised version of the NHS Constitution before Parliament as an Act paper. First, I assure the noble Earl that I agree with his assessment of the importance of Parliamentary accountability, but within the context of the constitution. I should remind Members of the Committee that most of the rights in the constitution are already enshrined in law, with the exception of the three new rights that we debated at Second Reading. The Government would always expect to make a document of such importance available to parliamentarians, usually by placing a copy in the Library and issuing a Written Ministerial Statement. Indeed, Ministers are bound by the Ministerial Code to make important announcements such as this to Parliament. The noble Earl will of course be aware that when the constitution was published on 21 January it was accompanied by a Written Ministerial Statement and copies were placed in the Library. I do not consider that it is necessary to lay before Parliament future versions of the Act paper rather than place them in the Library. Furthermore, the constitution is intended to be a public-facing document, unlike annual reports or accounts of non-departmental public bodies, which are often laid as Act papers. Indeed, the constitution is a living, although enduring, document, which will be updated over time. We need the flexibility to alter it, and the current arrangements allow us that flexibility while giving Parliament proper sight of the document. There is no question of the constitution being changed by the back door, given our commitment to consult on any revisions, as we debated earlier. Given my reassurances that we have every intention to follow parliamentary procedures, I hope that the noble Earl feels able to withdraw his amendment.