Care Bill [HL]

My Lords, as I indicated, we have always needed to strike a balance—reflected in the 2002 regulations which the noble Lord brought forward in that year—between protecting the rights of the individual and ensuring that ethical approved research can take place using confidential patient data only where appropriate. I agree with the noble Lord that we should not place any undue barriers in the way of research, but there are clear rules around this which we need to honour and protect. We will be reaching a group of amendments around the issue of transparency, and if the noble Lord will allow it, I will reserve my remarks on that until we reach that group of amendments.