My Lords, I thank so much the noble Lords who have supported this amendment. I always welcome the support of the noble
Baroness, Lady Brinton, because she is clear, concise and very authoritative; she commented that doctors already have a duty and that we should see progress. As always, the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, was accurate; she talked about accuracy and accessibility for patients, and said that the register really is so important because it actually safeguards doctors, a point that has been put to us by some doctors. The noble Baroness, Lady Neuberger, is a chair of one of our great hospitals in London, and I was so grateful for her contribution. She went to her medical directors and found out that they thought this was an ethical way forward and should be encouraged. I also thank her for her generous remarks about the report—I would just like to say it is not my report; it was the team’s report, and I had some really good people on the team. I thank the
noble Baroness, Lady Thornton, who was right: it has to be a national register, not a local one, and it has to be accessible to patients.
In summing up, I thank the Minister very much for her comments. There is such feeling about this in the country that it would be very helpful if she could convene a meeting with me, my team and the GMC to discuss this together. I think that a little more persuasion—especially from sources such as those on the Front Bench—would make all the difference.