Lord Newton of Braintree: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will estimate the average gross earnings equating to the proposed benefit cap plus child benefit for (1) a couple and (2) a lone parent, where the number of children is (a) one, (b) two, (c) three, (d) four, (e) five, and (f) six.
Lord Newton of Braintree: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will publish a revised version of the anticipated savings from the Government's current legislative proposals on legal aid, taking account of the King's College London report Unintended Consequences: The Cost ofthe Government's Legal Aid Reforms, and other assessments made since those proposals were published.
Lord Newton of Braintree: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the totals of any additional costs expected to be incurred as a result of their legislative proposals on legal aid by (1) HM Courts and Tribunal Service, (2) government departments, (3) the National Health Service, (4) local authority care services, and (5) the voluntary and charitable sector.
Lord Newton of Braintree: To ask Her Majesty's Government in what circumstances child benefit is legally regarded as the income of (1) one parent, (2) both parents, (3) one parent and a third party, and (4) a third party or parties.
Lord Newton of Braintree: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Department of Health, the National Health Service or the NHS Litigation Authority have made any estimate of the costs or savings to them of the Government's current legislative proposals on legal aid; and, if so, what those estimates are.
Lord Newton of Braintree: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the statutory responsibilities of (1) a primary care trust board, (2) a primary care trust cluster board, (3) a strategic health authority board, and (4) a strategic health authority cluster board.
Lord Newton of Braintree: Briefly, may I just-in the form of a question, as I think is appropriate-ask my noble friend whether he is aware that I think that is a significantly generous response to my request for proper, genuine consultation and a real opportunity for the House to have a say?
Lord Newton of Braintree: My Lords, I am intervening-as usual, you might think-for two reasons. First, on the previous occasion I sat down there and declared that I was standing shoulder to shoulder with my noble and learned friend Lord Mackay of Clashfern, which indeed I was, and I was therefore part of the vote that has caused us to be having this debate this evening. I will say something about that in a moment....
Lord Newton of Braintree: My Lords, I am intervening only briefly, partly because I do not want to attack the right reverend Prelate, who seemed to be in a much less militant mood than he was on the previous occasion. I will, therefore, not repeat the remarks that I made then, when I made the point that what he was asking for was an increase in the benefit cap. I refrained from saying at that time-and the House ought...
Lord Newton of Braintree: My Lords, having been a serial good-behaviour person this week, I thought that I ought at least, in fairness to myself and the noble Lord, Lord Best, to join in on this, as I was in my serial offending mode at the time the previous amendment was discussed. I am not going to repeat everything I said then, but I am tempted, not by every line of argument that the noble Baroness, Lady Hollis, or...
Lord Newton of Braintree: My Lords, I had not intended to intervene either. I will do so very briefly because I have made my points at earlier stages of the Bill. My principal point, as I said to the noble Baroness, Lady Meacher, at the end of last week, was that I did not expect to be able to vote for her amendment because, while I thought that the cause was good, writing this kind of thing into primary legislation...
Lord Newton of Braintree: My Lords, I hope that the noble Lord who moved the amendment will accept my apologies. I needed to recuperate after the previous debate so I was not present for the earlier part of this debate. Therefore, it is probably unwise for me to speak. However, I have checked that I will not cross the path of my noble friend Lord Fowler in what I intend to say, so I will risk it. The noble Lord, Lord...
Lord Newton of Braintree: My Lords, I am tempted to chip in-rather unwisely, no doubt, as usual-by the last two speeches. If it does not seem paradoxical, I must say that I agree with almost every word of both of them. I certainly share the view of the noble Baroness, Lady Pitkeathley, and have some experience in having chaired three NHS health trusts since 1997, that there are too many cases in which an apology,...
Lord Newton of Braintree: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have plans for any further clustering of primary care trusts in advance of the passage of the Health and Social Care Bill.
Lord Newton of Braintree: My Lords, I assure the House that I rise only briefly. On this occasion, unlike two amendments ago, I have three excuses for doing so, not just two. The first is that I do not always want to be a troublemaker. The second is that I and my noble friend Lord Mawhinney expressed the view at an earlier stage that resistance to an amendment of this kind would be absurd because the amendment...
Lord Newton of Braintree: My Lords, perhaps I may say that if it was me who my noble friend was referring to as being on his left, I am thrilled to bits by his rather more constructive response. I congratulate him.
Lord Newton of Braintree: I have two excuses for speaking. First, I have chaired two mental health trusts and, although I no longer do so, I have a continuing interest of a non-financial kind. Secondly, before my noble and learned friend Lord Mackay left for what was described as his well earned rest and recuperation, I was the nearest thing to anybody he anointed to take care of his interests while he was away, which...
Lord Newton of Braintree: My Lords, I do not know whether this is in order, but if it is I would like to do it. My noble friend should know that concern about this matter is not confined to the other side of the House. I also think that, notwithstanding what has just been said or what the previous Government may or may not have done in 2006, this raises real questions about the relationship in practice as it has...
Lord Newton of Braintree: My Lords, to avoid repetition, I say that I would still like to hear answers to the questions raised by my noble and learned friend Lord Mackay, the noble Lord, Lord Rooker, and the noble Baroness, Lady Hollis-what is the point against this background? Also, what is the application to the Bill that we are about to get back to, the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, where...
Lord Newton of Braintree: I did not suggest that this was setting rates in concrete; I suggested that it was setting relationships between rates in concrete. That runs into the point that the noble Baroness just made and my earlier point: that there is a spectrum which changes over time.