"My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for her reply, although I shall resist the temptation to follow her into the realm of rearranging the furniture or even the deckchairs on the NHS “Titanic”. She rather missed the point of Amendment 69ZA, which adds to the provision in the …..." Lord Beecham - View Speech
"Of course there is consultation going on. It has been going on for an inordinate amount of time and we need to see the outcome of that—as indeed does local government—during the passage of this Bill, I hope. These are critically important matters which at the moment remain opaque, to …..." Lord Beecham - View Speech
"My Lords, as we are in Committee, I can repair my omission in failing to anticipate the Minister’s response to what has been a very good debate. I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Sharkey, on tabling these amendments. I take issue with him slightly over one matter he mentioned: the …..." Lord Beecham - View Speech
"My Lords, in my youth—your Lordships might think it a rather sad youth—I was, at age 25, opposition spokesman on Newcastle City Council on a pre-Seebohm health committee, which had two remarkably effective and powerful chief officers. One was the medical officer of health, and the other was the chief …..." Lord Beecham - View Speech
"My Lords, is it not ironic on the day that Southern Cross has collapsed—closing 560 residential homes, which account for over 30 per cent of residential care places—that the Government are proclaiming the virtues of diversity? How diverse is a system that allows a single private operator to provide such …..." Lord Beecham - View Speech
"My Lords, I come to this debate two years after my wife was diagnosed with inoperable bowel cancer and with secondaries in her liver and lungs. I therefore hope that your Lordships will bear with me if I speak in a more personal vein than is perhaps usual in debates …..." Lord Beecham - View Speech