Clause 41 - Codes of practice: procedure
Mental Capacity Bill
2:45 pm
Mr Tim Boswell (Shadow Minister, Home Affairs; Daventry, Conservative)
I am grateful to the Minister for his comments, although I must say that I am not wholly persuaded. However, it is getting rather late in the day and so I do not intend to force the issue at present. The argument that no one said that they wanted something is not of itself sufficient to say that it should not happen. I am also slightly worried that Ministers are beginning to develop a habit of saying, ''Let's consult everybody else, but the last people we should consult are Members of Parliament.'' By that I mean no disrespect to the stakeholders or the interested parties, to whom we are grateful for the briefing that they have provided for us, collectively and individually, and with whom the Minister is right to consult. I do not want that comment caricatured as suggesting that Members of Parliament are the only people with any wisdom in the matter—that is certainly not the case. However, I am saying that a degree of parliamentary hurdling is quite an important part of the process, although I know that it is tedious for Ministers and does sometimes hold things up, which is a consideration. I think that we as a Committee may say modestly that the fact that we have been putting the Minister over the jumps in the Standing Committee has been worth while and good for him, if I may say so, because it has not been partisan—we have all been involved.
I indicated that there are areas of judgment in these matters. There is also the possibility of disseminating the code more widely—not just to the stakeholders but to other interested parties, including interested Members of Parliament. The Minister has already referred to the codes under the Disability Discrimination Act. Wearing another hat, I received those codes and commented on them as a consultee; I was pleased to do so. Perhaps, as Members of Parliament, we do not do that often enough.
The Minister might like to consider the whole process again, but at this stage I am not going to spoil my duck by forcing the issue. However, I would not like the Minister to feel that we are entirely convinced on this or on one or two other issues: we are not. I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment.
Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
Clause 41 ordered to stand part of the Bill.