§ Lords Amendment: No. 4, in page 3, leave out line 8.
§ 5.15 p.m.
§ Dr. VaughanI think it fair to say that the Opposition take a great deal of the credit for the inclusion of district nurses in the consultations. We hope that the district nurses will appreciate that the Conservatives have consistently said that they should have proper representation in order to preserve their identity. This amendment will achieve that objective, and we welcome it.
§ Mr. HodgsonI am delighted to see that this change has been made. In Standing Committee the Minister was kind enough to reply to a couple of interventions about the structure covering district nursing. It was clear to the Committee that there was an illogicality in the proposed structure.
When I pointed out this illogicality, the Minister said:
I sometimes wonder why I make speeches, because I seem to have to go over the same ground so often in order to hammer into the hon. Member for Walsall, North (Mr. Hodgson) what is going on."—[Official Report, Standing Committee B, 14 December 1978; c. 275.]I am glad that the Minister has now seen the illogicality of his position.
§ Mr. MoyleI am having to go over again what I said in Committee. The district nurses wanted a standing committee of the Central Nursing Council and standing committees of the national boards. We therefore wrote that into the Bill. During the course of the Bill's passage they decided that they wanted a joint committee. We have now given them a joint committee of the central council and no committees of the national boards. I am sorry to have to repeat that to the House.
§ Question put and agreed to.