Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 (c.13)

1 In paragraph 8(1) of Schedule 3 to the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 (matters not subject to examination) the words ''or by the Public Health Laboratory Service Board'' are omitted.

House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 (c.24)

2 In Part 3 of Schedule 1 to the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 (other disqualifying offices) the entry relating to the

Chairman of the Public Health Laboratory Service Board is omitted.

Race Relations Act 1976 (c.74)

3 In Part 2 of Schedule 1A to the Race Relations Act 1976 (additional bodies subject to a general statutory duty) the entry relating to the Public Health Laboratory Service Board is omitted.

National Health Service Act 1977 (c.49)

4 In the National Health Service Act 1977—

(a) in section 5 (provision of other services), subsections (4) and (5) are omitted;

(b) in section 127(c) the words ''(except the Public Health Laboratory Service Board)'' are omitted;

(c) Schedule 3 (Public Health Laboratory Service Board) is omitted.

Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 (c.1)

5 In section 519A(2) of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 (definition of health bodies) paragraph (h) is omitted.

National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 (c.19)

6 In the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990—

(a) in section 4(2) (NHS contracts) paragraph (h) is omitted;

(b) in section 21(2) (schemes for meeting losses and liabilities of certain health service bodies) paragraph (c) and the word ''and'' preceding it are omitted;

(c) in section 60(7) (removal of Crown immunities) paragraph (h) and the word ''and'' preceding it are omitted.

Health Service Commissioners Act 1993 (c.46)

7 In section 2(1) of the Health Service Commissioners Act 1993 (bodies subject to investigation) paragraph (g) and the word ''and'' preceding it are omitted.

Employment Rights Act 1996 (c.18)

8 In section 218(10) (list of health service employers affected by continuity of employment provisions) paragraph (c) and the word ''and'' preceding it are omitted.

Government of Wales Act 1998 (c.38)

9 (1) In Schedule 5 of the Government of Wales Act 1998 (bodies covered by power of Assembly to require under section 74 of that Act certain persons to attend and give evidence and produce documents), paragraph 39 is omitted.

(2) But subparagraph (1) does not affect a requirement made—

(a) before this paragraph comes into force;

(b) in relation to any matter which occurred or existed before that time.

Freedom of Information Act 2000 (c.36)

10 In Schedule 1 to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (public authorities for the purposes of the Act) paragraph 43 is omitted.

International Development Act 2002 (c.1)

11 In Schedule 1 to the International Development Act 2002 (bodies with power to enter into certain arrangements) the words ''Public Health Laboratory Service Board'' are omitted.

Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 (c.41)

12 In section 133(4) of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 (disclosure of certain information to health service bodies)—

(a) in paragraph (a) the word ''or'' is inserted after subparagraph (iii) and subparagraph (v) and the word ''or'' preceding it are omitted;

(b) in paragraph (b) the word ''or'' is inserted after subparagraph (i) and subparagraph (iii) and the word ''or'' preceding it are omitted.'.—[Mr. Hutton.]

Brought up, read the First and Second time, and added to the Bill.

Question proposed, That the Chairman do report the Bill, as amended, to the House.

At this happy moment—[Hon. Members: ''Hear, hear!''] I know that everyone wants me to make this brief, and I will. May I record, on behalf of my hon. Friends and, I hope, other hon. Members—they will speak for themselves—our appreciation of the way in which you and Mr. Atkinson have chaired our proceedings, Mr. Griffiths? In a delightful way, you have been strict, fair and funny and we have all enjoyed serving under your leadership. I also extend, through you, our appreciation to the Officers of the House who have, again, shown distinction in supporting the work of right hon. and hon. Members. It may not be customary, but I should like briefly to express my appreciation to the many officials in the Department of Health who have provided support to my hon. Friends on the front bench. I have greatly appreciated their help.

This has been a generally well-tempered Committee. We have had some good debates, which have been of a high quality. I finish by expressing my appreciation to all members of the Committee, on both sides, for their forbearance and good humour, which have made the past four or five weeks of my life an unforgettable experience.

On behalf of my right hon. and hon. Friends, I thank you and Mr. Atkinson for the exemplary way in which you have chaired our proceedings, Mr. Griffiths. You made them flow with ease and humour, and in a way that achieved the purposes of the Committee. I also thank the staff of the House, particularly the Clerks. As you know, Mr. Griffiths, we do not have access to parliamentary draftsmen, so we are particularly grateful to the Clerks for their help, which has been beyond the call of duty, in assisting us to make our Opposition more relevant and effective.

I thank my right hon. and hon. Friends for all that they have done during this Committee to make it both informative and interesting.

I congratulate the Minister on the fluent way in which he led for the Government. I also congratulate him on being the great survivor of the Department of Health, despite our having started a mere five weeks ago. Then, we had three Ministers from the Department in the Committee; now, like ''Home Alone'', the Minister is here alone as the only representative of the Department of Health.

I also congratulate the Government Whip on his promotion during the course of our proceedings.

Perhaps surprisingly, there is one member of the Committee to whom every Member on both sides of the Committee—except perhaps two—owes thanks. I should like to pay particular tribute to the honesty and straightforwardness of the hon. Member for Cheadle (Mrs. Calton), who, unfortunately, is not present in the Committee. For many years, Government and Conservative Members have made the case that the Liberal Democrats will tell anyone anything in the hope of winning a vote. Thanks to this Committee and the honesty of the hon. Lady, we now have that on the record.

The Conservative party is reminding people throughout the country—as, no doubt, is the Labour party—of our second sitting, so many weeks and debates ago. It stands out like a beacon as a rare occasion of honesty and straightforwardness. When asked how an hon. Member can vote against the principle of foundation hospitals on the Floor of the House and then, within a week, tell the Committee that she supports her constituents' bid for foundation status in her Constituency, the hon. Lady told us:

''We can all modify our opinions according to local circumstances.''—[Official Report, Standing Committee E, 13 May 2003; c. 57.]

I was about to associate myself with all the comments that have just been made by the Minister and the hon. Member for West Chelmsford, but the hon. Member for West Chelmsford spoiled that. With the exception of his final comments, on which I shall not be drawn at length but to which I will return, I should like to associate myself with what he said.

The Minister said that the conduct of the Committee had made the last five weeks of his life unforgettable. I hope that he did not mean that literally and that he was not claiming that his life was to be terminated. I hope that he was referring to the ''past'' five weeks of his life.

It is no reflection on the Minister or on your chairmanship, Mr. Griffiths—and that of your colleague, Mr. Atkinson—that we did not discuss a significant number of clauses, particularly those dealing with CHAI and CSCI. The House should reflect on whether it is satisfactory that under a programme motion, we have spare time at the end of this sitting that could have been used for consideration

of those clauses. It is worth noting that—through no fault of yours, Mr. Griffiths, your colleague or, indeed, Opposition Members—large chunks of the Bill will go on to the statute book without being discussed in Committee.

Finally, the hon. Member for West Chelmsford must be dealt with. I am pleased that he has corrected himself. When he first raised what he considers to be those famous words, he said that my hon. Friend had said that principles could be altered according to local circumstances. He has demonstrated that he was wrong to say that—[Interruption.] The hon. Gentleman claimed on a number of occasions, as he can see from the record, that my hon. Friend had said that people's principles could be altered to fit local circumstances. That is not what she said.

The hon. Gentleman gave me notice five weeks ago that he would raise this and I am prepared to put on the record that if foundation trusts become the only game in town—as with PFI, another policy whose introduction we might regret—in terms of improving services for local people, we will be prepared to support our local hospitals while regretting the fact that that is the only option available. I know that that applies to some Labour Members, although they will not admit it. Unlike the hon. Member for West Chelmsford, we have proposed alternatives to Government proposals, as the record will show. The Conservatives have provided none. It has been enjoyable sparring with the hon. Gentleman, particularly when he thinks that he has won but has not. Events will show that to be the case.

Question put and agreed to.

Bill, as amended, to be reported.

Committee rose at twenty-nine minutes to Four o'clock.