Clause 5
Health and Social Care Bill
5:15 pm
Angela Browning (Deputy Chairman, The Conservative Party; Tiverton and Honiton, Conservative)
I support my hon. Friend on the amendment. In one of our evidence sessions, I touched on the question of doctors who put themselves forward as expert witnesses. There is some general concern about medical professionals who carry out assessments. Sometimes it is seen as a retirement job for people who have long left practising medicine on a day-by-day basis and who can be quite out of touch with assessing people with some of the more unusual or rare conditions. They are often particularly out of touch with the way in which we now regard people with learning disabilities, mental health problems and autistic spectrum disorders.
The amendment would ensure that anybody who wears a badge saying that they are an authority or an expert in the health and social care sector is subject to the rigours that will come from the inspectorate. As Members of Parliament we see far too many cases of people with sometimes quite complex disabilities who are able to work. Equally, on the other hand, we see people whose disabilities might be a little more invisible on the day and who do not get the expertise and the fair assessments from people who, one would hope, are experts in their fields.
Very often, the experts are on a panel or report to a panel of lay people. It can be expected that a lay person on a panel will accept the judgment and recommendations of a medical expert, whether or not the person’s ability to work has been undervalued. The vast majority of people with a disability want to work. They might not necessarily be able to do a full week’s work. However, there are many people who could work and who want to work. It is right that their assessment should be fair.
Under many of the Government schemes, there are tiers at which people who have been out of work or people in their 20s and 30s who have never been in paid employment can be helped into employment. Making a fair assessment of what needs to be an incremental introduction into the world of work depends very much on the expert judgment. It would be unfair in most of those cases to say, “Okay, 38 hours a week for you.” That judgment is taken by a panel, which is dependent on the advice and the assessment. There needs to be a much more subtle and flexible understanding of the world of work and the particular disability or incapacity that is being assessed. This issue is important because it is a very grey area.
In the same way as I was concerned about expert witness earlier in these proceedings, the judgment of the panel is looked at and is listened to. It can be quite influential in where the person goes in life. It can be as important as that. Bringing such people within the scope of this legislation, as outlined in the amendment, is very important.