Clause 8 - Transfer of property and staff etc.
Health Protection Agency Bill [Lords]
10:30 am
Dr Andrew Murrison (Shadow Minister, Public Services, Health & Education; Westbury, Conservative)
I missed my chance to raise a couple of points in the debate on the previous clause, and hope to return to them later.
I shall be brief on this clause, which is long, complicated and necessary. I have no particular difficulty with it. However, I worry about the transfer of property rights and liabilities to the agency from its predecessor bodies, especially as that will be done on the authority's say so. I am ever so slightly concerned that, because the way in which that can be done is subject to the agreement of a number of agencies, there is potential for conflict. I wonder about the arrangements for arbitration. Who is to decide whether particular pieces of property and liabilities and so on are to be transferred to the new agency from its predecessor bodies, who might object and under what circumstances would such objections be upheld?
I return to the point that I made in connection with a previous clause, when I pointed out the potential for difficulty in deciding which of the devolved assemblies and Parliaments would be liable for financial contributions to the agency, how much those would be and what accounts might be presented to support such contributions. I am trying to delve into the interface between the agency, its predecessor bodies and the authorities that are listed. How will they co-operate? As we have discussed, co-operation is a grey area. Nevertheless, I want to know how the authorities will co-operate to determine what can and cannot be transferred. There is usually room for misunderstanding and confusion in property matters, and it would be nice to know what functions have been
transferred to the new agency and what arbitration exists to ensure that conflict is avoided and that satisfactory resolutions are arrived at.