I reassure the hon. Member for Leeds, North-West, who tabled the Amendment, that we all agree that we should take steps to reduce the likelihood that a suitable person may mismanage a direct payment or abuse their position of trust. Anyone who cares for a person who lacks capacity under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and wilfully neglects or ill-treats that person can be found guilty of a criminal offence that is punishable by up to five years in prison, a fine, or both.

I do not think that the amendments are necessary because the safeguards that they would introduce are already present under new subsection (1A) and amended subsection (3). Direct payments will be made under the new scheme through a multi-step process. If someone is considered to be a suitable person who could potentially manage a direct payment on behalf of somebody else, that does not automatically mean that the direct payment will be made to them.

We have taken the powers in new subsection (1A) and amended subsection (3) to enable regulations to be made that impose conditions that must be met before the responsible authority decides to make the payments. Only if certain steps have been taken, or conditions have been satisfied, can payments be made to a suitable person. An example of a condition that we envisage being in the regulations is the requirement that the local authority must, when appropriate, consult family members or friends already involved in the care of the person who lacks capacity before deciding to make a direct payment to a suitable person. Furthermore, regulations may specify that if the suitable person is not a family member or a friend of the person lacking capacity, local authorities may be required to carry out vetting and a barring check under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 before making the direct payment.

I should perhaps add that the draft regulations on these matters will be subject to full consultation with local authorities, the Office of the Public Guardian and other interested stakeholders. In the light of those comments, I hope that the hon. Gentleman will feel able to withdraw the amendment.

In response to the question from my hon. Friend the Member for Tamworth about whether direct payments can be received even though somebody has been assessed as eligible for continuing care funding, my understanding is that it is not currently possible for somebody in receipt of continuing care funding to receive a direct payment as well.