Baroness Merron (Lab)

The noble Lord has raised this with me in the Chamber and in a Parliamentary Question, if I am not mistaken. While I cannot be specific, as I have mentioned before, the fortnightly meetings with CQC—after which a report also goes to the Secretary of State—are an example of focus which, I hope, give some sense of the pace and intensity in putting this right. The CQC not being fit for purpose is an unsustainable situation which is causing great difficulty. When I can update your Lordships’ House about timelines, I will be very pleased to do so. The noble Lord, Lord Kamall, asked about interim plans being in place. This is kept under review. We are working with the CQC on its recovery and will review whether further changes are needed. There is nothing to stop us from reviewing regulations in the interim. Five years is the statutory requirement, but it does not mean that we cannot act sooner. It is a point well made about time. Similarly, the noble Lord asked whether the reviews being every five years would slow down the adoption of technology. The intention is that it would absolutely not. The reason for keeping the regulations under review is that that would not be regarded as getting the right balance which we all seek. Regarding capacity issues to meet the expanding requirement, we are very conscious of the consequences. The Government will work with the CQC, NHSE and its partners on a workable mechanism for notifying restraint within 72 hours, which was the point raised. With that, I thank noble Lords for their contributions. Perhaps I can assure them that, in some ways, this is for me a work in progress, on many sides. We will continue to do that.