Clause 48 - Exclusion of nursing care from community care services
Health and Social Care Bill
5:00 pm
Mr Paul Burstow (Sutton and Cheam, Liberal Democrat)
The amendment seeks to avoid the House debating whether to allow another body to decide how to proceed with personal care and whether or not it should be provided. The amendment and the new clause make it clear that these are devolved matters for the Welsh Assembly. It is a matter of ensuring that the Welsh Assembly is able to take decisions on the provision of personal care in the context of its own priorities and resources and the situation in Wales. In other words, it would enable the Welsh Assembly to reach its own view, on the basis of the evidence, on whether to follow the royal commission's recommendations for free personal care. That is the purpose of the amendment and the new clause—to allow the Welsh Assembly the same freedoms as the Scottish Parliament.
In the debate in the House last night, the Minister referred to the current position of my colleagues in Wales, for the simple reason that the Liberal Democrats are committed to devolution. We accept the possibility of different solutions in different places. We do not have a problem with that. In the case of England, we believe that the Government should adopt the policy that has been adopted in Scotland, because it is right. If our colleagues in Wales, having assessed the situation there and having considered the representations that are made to them, reach a different conclusion, that is the consequence of devolution. There should be no problem with that. The amendment and the new clause were tabled in order to secure for the Assembly the same power as the Scottish Parliament and allow them to consider the matter for themselves.