Lord Rix: moved Amendment No. 88: Page 12, line 18, at end insert ("and the teaching and learning arrangements at").
Lord Rix: My Lords, top billing seems rather appropriate for this midnight matinee. Having reflected on the debate at Committee stage, I must return to my Amendments Nos. 88 and 92 regarding the content of accessibility strategies and plans. I am joined in this compulsion by my noble friend Lady Darcy de Knayth. Clause 13 is in general terms an excellent facet of the legislation. It is absolutely right...
Lord Rix: My Lords, I am extremely grateful for that response from the Minister. Unfortunately, I am off on the road to Morocco next week. Therefore, I shall not be present at Third Reading to welcome the government amendment. However, I hope that we can discuss the matter before I depart from these shores in the knowledge that, when it comes to the next stage, I shall have a most elegant and effective...
Lord Rix: My Lords, I add my voice to that of the noble Baroness, Lady Wilkins. There has to be some effective form of redress.
Lord Rix: My Lords, I was under the impression that it was I who came from the world of farce, but not even in my day could I have envisaged a "responsible body" being adjudged to be a responsible body if it had not even bothered to find out whether a person was disabled. Even the Marx brothers would have had problems with that double entendre. Normally, double entendres are intended to get laughs, but...
Lord Rix: My Lords, I hope to take and comment on this Bill as a single entity, even if that is not what it looks like. The willing suspension of disbelief was, after all, an important aspect of my theatrical career. Taken in that way, and viewed from the perspective of a person with a learning disability and their family--a role, as president of Mencap, I seek to undertake--if it works, as I assume...
Lord Rix: My Lords, before the noble Lord sits down, perhaps I may ask one question. Why does he find it so difficult to place those with severe mental impairment in one category and to say that they are not worthy of being deemed as in need of nursing care as opposed to other categories which are perhaps less severe? I refer to people with cognitive impairment caused by, for example, strokes,...
Lord Rix: asked Her Majesty's Government: In relation to Article 6.4.4 of the 16 September Common Position Statement on the proposed Copyright and Information Society Directive, whether member states can intervene to prevent technical blocks being used (a) to deprive disabled people of the right to copy on-line material to put it into accessible format; and (b) to prevent the public from exercising...
Lord Rix: My Lords, first, perhaps I may thank the noble Baroness, Lady Hollis, the noble Earl, Lord Russell, and the noble Lord, Lord Higgins, for their warm-hearted remarks about the part that I have been able to play in these proceedings. In truth, it is one of the most rewarding roles that I have ever undertaken and I am glad that it will be appreciated by a huge audience of elderly people, who, I...
Lord Rix: My head having been chopped off by the guillotine of the noble Lord, Lord Lipsey, I hope that the Committee will forgive me if I take my head out of the basket, tuck it under my arm and support Amendments Nos. 1, 262 and 260. I must confess that I have been outflanked. When I tabled my own amendment, I seemed likely to have the honour of firing the first shots over Clause 56. But the...
Lord Rix: May I ask the Minister a question for clarification? Let us consider the case of someone who has invested £100,000 in a pension fund and is receiving that pension and their old age pension, but they live in rented accommodation and have £2,000 in their current account and no other liquid assets. How would the £18,500 disregard be calculated in that case?
Lord Rix: asked Her Majesty's Government: What are the new initiatives in the White Paper Valuing People: a new strategy for learning disability for the 21st century (Cm 5086), and what extra funds are available to underpin it at local level.
Lord Rix: My Lords, I thank the Minister for that helpful reply. I also thank the Government for a most helpful and far-reaching White Paper. I commend it to your Lordships' House as ideal bedside reading! Perhaps I may ask the Minister to turn to page 125 of the White Paper. Sub-objective 4.1 refers to proposed performance indicators in regard to short-term breaks. Will the Minister confirm that if...
Lord Rix: moved Amendment No. 259: After Clause 53, insert the following new clause-- "PROHIBITION OF NEW CHARGES AS A RESULT OF THE CREATION OF CARE TRUSTS No new charges shall be created for new or existing services as a result of the creation of Care Trusts.".
Lord Rix: I am sure that the Minister will have been advised as to the technical as well as the policy problems with my new clause. What can be said in its defence--and that is no mean virtue--is that its purpose is crystal clear. Even I can understand it. It is intended to ensure that the setting up of a care trust does not open the way to charging for existing services which at present are free, and...
Lord Rix: Would the Minister say whether a name shift could take place? A service might be provided but not charged for; the body might change the title of the service, as it were, and it might possibly slightly change the content of the service, which might be ruled to be a chargeable item. Is that a possibility?
Lord Rix: Because of my past career, I am a great believer in belt and braces. It is a pity that the Minister was unable to accept my simple amendment, which would have made the formation of care trusts clear to all at the outset. Having said that, and having listened to the Minister's assurances--and his doubts--I feel that I ought to read what he said and consult my colleagues. I beg leave to...
Lord Rix: When I tabled Amendment No. 262 I had not envisaged two substantial discussions on the same issue in Committee and the rather lengthy Amendment No. 261 being grouped ahead of mine. For the second time, the Liberal Democrats opposite have beaten me to the starting post. In the circumstances I shall be brief because the twice told tale--boiling old potatoes--tends to lack an audience, even...
Lord Rix: I thank the noble Lord for giving way. I should like to point out that my amendment does not refer to personal or social care. It says purely and simply that if a person is in receipt of National Health Service care, another person with exactly the same condition should also be in receipt of National Health Service care. Nothing is mentioned in my amendment about personal care whatsoever.
Lord Rix: I thank the noble Lord for giving way. I am suggesting that, if one is in need of National Health Service care, which includes free meals, and one is such a person in another area, then that should apply, yes.