Baroness Fox of Buckley (Non-Afl)

My Lords, the noble Baroness, Lady Keeley, explained some of my concerns, which I found very helpful. I have a couple of questions for the noble and learned Lord, Lord Falconer. Why does an independent doctor’s report no longer have to say why there was a refusal? I do not understand why the words “reason for refusal” have been omitted; could that be clarified? One of the things that will be very important in reassuring those of us with concerns about safeguarding being taken seriously is having as much transparency as possible in the process and ensuring the constant recording of information. I am troubled by Amendment 418 and the word “unwillingness”, and not understanding, probing or having any way of finding out why somebody is unwilling. I understand that unwillingness might well refer to not being available or not being able to be so. However, if a doctor steps away, maybe because they feel uncomfortable about family members, undue influence or some kind of coercion taking place—all the things we have heard about—it seems relevant that that information be recorded somewhere, because it is a red flag and an early warning. That doctor’s opinion is only an opinion—the second doctor does not need to take any notice of it—but it would at least say that something is wrong; whereas, if the information just says that the doctor is not doing it because he is unwilling, we do not know anything. In this process, there surely has to be a way of checking all the time that everybody knows that things are being done in good faith. I am afraid that some of these drafting amendments seem unintentionally to make things more obscure. The wording does not help to give us more information; rather, it removes information. Therefore, I would like the noble and learned Lord to look at redrafting his redrafting, so that we can have a bit of clarity.