Mr John Denham (Minister of State, Department of Health; Southampton, Itchen, Labour)

I beg to move amendment No. 189, in page 58, line 37, leave out from `Authority' to end of line 38.

In the old days, before programme motions, one could happily dwell on one or two amendments for an entire afternoon. These days, the mind has to switch from topic to topic much more quickly.

This amendment amends paragraph 8 of schedule 1, which relates to GPs providing general medical services, or other practitioners providing services under part II of the National Health Service Act 1977, such as dentists. The amendment ensures that the description applies not only to those practitioners who provide services in the area of the scrutiny committee's local health authority, but to any part II practitioners.

Paragraphs 10 to 12 are intended to prevent the public disclosure of confidential or personal information about GPs and other primary care practitioners. The provisions also apply to their employees, such as practice nurses, placing them in the same position as employees of NHS bodies under paragraph 1 of the schedule. In practice, a scrutiny committee may deal with a wide range of different NHS bodies, and that may involve information going beyond that concerned solely with the committee's own area.

At present, paragraph 10 refers only to the part II practitioners on the list of the scrutiny committee's local health authority. However, there is no reason to protect only local GPs and not GPs in neighbouring health authority areas. Paragraph 11 already applies generally to providers of personal medical services or personal dental services, as does paragraph 1, which concerns the employees of NHS bodies. The amendment merely brings paragraph 10 in line with those provisions.

Amendment agreed to.

Schedule 1, as amended, agreed to.