Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill
10:45 am
Patrick Hall (Bedford, Labour)
I too welcome the new procedure, but I have one or two questions about the decisions that have been made—including on how they have been made—which I ask in the spirit of wishing to improve the process. For example, how were the witnesses selected, and why was not the Committee involved in that?
It might be difficult for the Committee to be involved, and some organisation in advance might be needed, but I should like to know how the selection was made. Today, for example, the Local Government Association will appear before us, quite rightly. The LGA represents all strands of local government, yet we will have a part repeat in respect of district councils, and a further repeat in respect of another part of local government with London Councils, so we have three bites of the same cherry taking up witness time today. The hon. Member for North-East Bedfordshire said that he had a huge list of possible witnesses, yet time will be taken up considering LGA work in those three separate bites. This evening we shall hear from Health Link, but we do not have time for the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health. That was the body that set up patients forums, so it would have been reasonable to hear from it. We need to learn some lessons on that.
There is another important point to do with administration. There has been little time to prepare and to read the brief. We shall do our best, but I rescued my papers from the post room at 8 o’clock yesterday evening; they were about to be posted to Bedford. Without the co-operation of the post service in the House that would not have helped me a great deal.
I mention those points not in a negative, critical manner but in a constructive one, in the hope that we shall do better in future.