My Lords, I thank my noble friend for introducing this amendment, which relates to a very important issue. Like him, I believe in evidence-based medicine.
The Government have maintained, and have been clear, that a change in the law by itself is unlikely to lead to an increase in the number of organs and tissues available for donation. However, it is an important measure in addressing the tragic death rate due to a lack of organs and tissues available for donation, and we hope that this will be a significant step towards changing the culture regarding organ and tissue donation in England, as I said previously.
I point out to the Committee that NHS Blood and Transplant already has a legal duty to report to the Secretary of State on all its activity and is a world leader in collecting and analysing data on organ donation, retrieval and transplantation. The ongoing data collection encompasses data regarding the registrations on the organ donor register, the number of potential and actual donors, organ retrieval and organ transplantation activity. This data is published in a variety of formats, placed on its website and set out annually in a comprehensive report.
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NHS Blood and Transplant will continue with its ongoing data collection and analysis and its annual report on a range of different organ donation statistics. However, I can see the value of an independent evaluation, which my noble friend is seeking, to look at other wider aspects such as how the new system has been implemented and, indeed, whether it is working in practice. I would therefore like to confirm that we
also have plans for a fuller evaluation once the new arrangements are up and running. The evaluation is intended to look at the first 12 months after the new system has been introduced. Officials have started considering this work.
My noble friend asked what the evaluation could cover. He is quite right that wills give us a good starting point. As I said, we are keen to look at all aspects—for example, public perceptions, the impact of communication campaigns and how the front line is working—to get a good understanding of how the system is working. I want to reassure my noble friend and other noble Lords that the process will be fully transparent. I am very happy to confirm that the Government will lay the report before Parliament. I hope that my noble friend will be pleased with that commitment.
My noble friend also asked whether there is value in carrying a donor card. Yes, there is value. On the question of Jewish and Muslim cards, NHS Blood and Transplant has worked with faith leaders to improve the cards and include a faith option on the organ donor register. Furthermore, as part of the Bill’s post-legislative scrutiny, we will be required to submit a memorandum to the relevant Select Committee, reporting on key elements of the legislation’s implementation and operation, three to five years after it receives Royal Assent. I hope this further confirms our intentions.
Given the current duty on NHS Blood and Transplant to report annually, which goes beyond the commitment set out in this amendment, and given the Government’s plans to do a formal evaluation after the new arrangements are up and running—which we fully recognise is good practice in policy-making—I hope that my noble friend feels reassured and will withdraw his amendment.