Health Bill [HL]

I shall give an example of what happened to me. I cannot leave my home in Yorkshire without my helpers. One of my helpers is pregnant, which causes problems for the disabled person. There are certain things that the helper cannot do, such as helping someone into bed, out of a car or so on. The father of my other helper had a brain operation last week, so both my helpers had to go to their homes. I had to call in an agency, which is five times more expensive. I am worried about the expense of such care. Direct payments must be flexible because things happen. Employing people is not straightforward. It has its problems, as was illustrated by the noble Baroness, Lady Wilkins.