My Lords, Part 3 of the Bill has seven clauses: Clauses 88 to 94. This group of amendments seeks to oppose each of them and has been tabled in the name of my noble friend Lady Thornton. The title of Part 3 is:
“Secretary of State’s Powers to Transfer or Delegate Functions”.
It puts into legislation what is proposed in the Integration and Innovation White Paper, which was justified by reference to the need to be able to respond rapidly and —once again, we see this word—flexibly.
It is a fair observation that the existence of multiple arm’s-length bodies is a side-effect of the more modern NHS, as we see more distancing from government. Some of them have worked better than others and, of course, some are listed specifically in the Bill. So the question for the Minister is: why does the Secretary of State need the broad powers outlined in the Bill to intervene in the running of these arm’s-length bodies, and why now? In the White Paper, in Committee in the other place and since, nothing has come forward to explain why giving even more powers in this way can be justified, so it would be most helpful if the Minister could illustrate what would happen were these powers not granted to the Secretary of State.
Of course, there is a danger here. If the arm’s-length bodies know that they are subject to these powers, they will inevitably become a lot less arm’s-length and less able to fulfil the functions for which they have been established. I venture to suggest that this is about consolidation of power at the top while pushing accountability down or further away, and I would welcome the Minister’s observations on this.
Throughout the deliberations of this Committee and the Committee in the other place, numerous concerns have been expressed about giving greater powers to the Secretary of State. Unless a compelling case is made and appropriate safeguards built in, I believe it is right that we oppose these clauses standing part of the Bill. I beg to move.