Clause 16 - Accountable officers and their responsibilities as to controlled drugs
Health Bill
2:00 pm
Jane Kennedy (Minister of State, Department of Health; Liverpool, Wavertree, Labour)
And, indeed, if we allow the trust flexibility, so that it has a range of options open to it, including that of bringing in someone at the necessary level with capacity, that would be the best position. The hon. Gentleman’s amendment would restrict that flexibility unnecessarily.
By and large, we expect that someone already working for the health care organisation will become the appointed officer, but there is facility under the Bill for two organisations to have a joint appointment. While meeting the requirements of our response to the Shipman inquiry, we want to allow as large a degree of flexibility as possible, so that health organisations can respond in an appropriate way locally. I appreciate that this is a probing amendment, and I hope that I have been able to reassure the hon. Gentleman so that he feels able to withdraw it.