Clause 14
Health and Social Care Bill
6:15 pm
Stephen O'Brien (Shadow Minister, Health; Eddisbury, Conservative)
I beg to move amendment No. 11, in clause 14, page 6, line 34, at end insert—
‘(c) documented reasonable grounds for taking action have been laid before the board of the Commission.’.
Our amendment proposes to tack new paragraph (c) on to subsection (2), which states:
“Except where the Commission gives notice under section 27, the power conferred by subsection (1) is exercisable only on”
the outlined grounds. The amendment would establish a clear audit trail that could be interrogated in the case of appeals. I am sure that the Minister will be the first to accept that that is an absolutely appropriate best practice, which is what we have all been trying to put in place for many years in the public and private sector and within the professions. Those in the professions are being considered here because they are providing a service on behalf of others. I cannot understate the importance of such an amendment.