Health Bill [HL]

I am grateful to the Minister for her reply. I am pretty satisfied with her reply on Amendment 120, but I am still very uneasy about my other two amendments. She was right to point out that the words "involves" or "is connected with" are a mirror image or transposition of the wording used in the 2008 Act but, as she also pointed out, the definition in that Act was made narrower by way of examples of what "is connected to" actually means. Here, if it is left entirely open, there is scope for people to argue that someone servicing a motor vehicle is an adult social care provider, which would be very undesirable. More serious is the reply that she gave on Amendment 117. It is entirely right and understandable that a local commissioner should have the power to decide how proceedings are run and lay down the procedure applicable to a hearing and so on, but that is not the same thing as deciding that a person may not be represented. The wording appears to say that a person may not be represented at all. The noble Baroness’s reply indicated that what is meant here is that the local commissioner could decide that a particular person was an unsuitable representative. If that is intended, I should prefer to see that made clear here. As it is, the wording is very widely drawn and it could be taken to mean that the local commissioner has a very sweeping power. I am not entirely happy with that situation and I wonder whether, between now and the next stage, further thought could be given to that point.