Clause 31

Part of – in a Public Bill Committee at 1:45 pm on 26 February 2009.

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Photo of Ann McKechin Ann McKechin The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland 1:45, 26 February 2009

I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s comments. We certainly would prefer people to work together in partnership, and voluntarily, because that will give a greater level of service and provision to disabled people. However, he is right that we will be looking closely at the trailblazers to consider whether we need to make further regulations.

The Bill gives us the power to provide for regulations requiring authorities to work together on specific matters so that they share information or vary conditions attached to financial assistance for the purposes of the right to control under clauses 31(4) and 31(5)(b). Clause 31(6) also contains a power to require authorities to have regard to guidance, which will allow us to take account of the experiences of users and authorities in the trailblazing phase and set out further ways in which authorities should co-operate, both in general and in particular.

Amendment 27 would remove the phrase “in prescribed circumstances” from clause 31, thereby removing an important clarification from the Bill. It is important for people to understand that the primary legislation is a framework and that secondary legislation will set out how the right should work in practice, including by clearly defining any boundaries to the right to control. It is important that these boundaries are referenced in the primary legislation to avoid misleading people. I therefore have serious reservations about an amendment that implies that we are making the right available without limit and in all circumstances. It is not difficult to conceive of circumstances when the right to control may not be appropriate, such as when a service is universally available.

We intend to consult fully on the regulations so that disabled people and their organisations, providers and authorities can tell us how they want to manage these issues. Their advice will be crucial to how we take this matter forward. The consultations will allow us to work together to deliver a strong, inclusive and supportive regulatory structure. Given what I have said, I urge the hon. Gentleman to withdraw the amendment.