Member

I am grateful to my noble friend the Minister for meeting me and the noble Baroness, Lady Barker, before Report and discussing these issues of the gaps in human rights protection after the Sammut case and how those gaps are to be dealt with. As I mentioned in our meetings with the Minister, there are other areas of outsourced health and social care affected by the Sammut ruling, including children’s social care. I have written to my noble friend Lady Smith of Malvern about the possibility of incorporating an amendment similar to Amendment 54 for outsourced social care and education in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. There is also a gap for other areas of outsourced health and social care funded from the NHS, including NHS continuing healthcare and any healthcare for physical illnesses commissioned by the NHS. If there is to be—and I think it is likely—an NHS Bill in this Parliament, that could provide a vehicle to close any remaining gaps in human rights protection for outsourced health and social care. For now, I commend what is a simple but important amendment, and I hope it can be supported.