My Lords, it is a very great pleasure to follow my friend, the noble Lord, Lord Howarth of Newport. I very much look forward to the day when he will be able to rejoin us here on the Floor of the House. He has made an immense contribution during his parliamentary life, both in the other place and here, and I associate myself with and endorse all his comments about the arts and health. But I wanted to make another, more parliamentary point.
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I think it is, frankly, disgraceful that things are done by secondary legislation that should be done by primary legislation. I have addressed the House on this subject many times in a variety of contexts. I deplore the proliferation of Christmas tree Bills, Henry VIII clauses and all the rest of it. But to bring about major changes in our health service without the opportunity for adequate and proper scrutiny in this House and the other place shows a contempt for Parliament that I am afraid is becoming a hallmark of the present Government.
I do, of course, entirely except from any criticism my noble friend who will reply to this debate. He is a new Minister and is making a brave start. He has the good will of all of us and we genuinely wish him well, wherever we sit in the House. I am delighted to see my friend, the noble Lord, Lord Hunt of Kings Heath,
nodding vigorous assent. But what my noble friend can do, and what I ask him to do, is take back to his ministerial colleagues a growing sense of unease and disquiet at the way in which Parliament—to which the Government, whatever their complexion, should always be accountable and answerable—is being sidelined time and again.
During the period of the pandemic we have had far too much retrospective legislation—a brief debate after certain things have come into force—but to have no proper discussion of the issues we are touching on tonight, which are the subject of an entirely justifiable regret Motion, is appalling. We have had enough of this. It is something up with which we should not put for much longer. I hope my noble friend will convey this message. It is a fairly empty House, but I think I speak for a lot of those who are not here in deploring this tendency. I trust my noble friend will talk to the Secretary of State and others and say that this must not happen again.