FUNCTIONS OF COUNCIL (Hansard, 7 February 1979)

§ Mr. Deputy Speaker (Sir Myer Galpern)
The next amendment to be considered is No. 4.

§ Dr. Vaughan
rose—

§ Mr. Moyle
It may save the time of the House if I say in respect of amendment No. 4, which I presume the hon. Member for Reading. South (Dr. Vaughan) moved formally when he rose, that I am prepared to get an amendment—

§ Mr. Deputy Speaker
Order. We are working far too swifty. I wish that we could solve the health visitors' difficulties as speedily as the House is trying to solve the Chair's difficulties.. Is the hon. Member for Reading, South (Dr. Vaughan) moving anything?

§ Dr. Vaughan
I beg to move amendment No. 4, in page 2, line 27 at end insert— '(3A) The Council shall by means of rules provide guidance for the member of the nursing, midwifery and health visiting profession on standards of professional conduct.'.

§ Mr. Moyle
I apologise for moving with undue haste. If the hon. Member for Reading, South will withdraw his amendment, I am prepared to move an amendment at a later stage to make crystal clear that the Central Council will have power to make rules for the guidance of the profession if it wishes.

§ Dr. Vaughan
I sometimes complain that the Minister has acted too slowly. In this case he seems to have taken my advice but is acting so fast that we can barely keep up with him.
454 In view of what the Minister said, I shall not make the speech that I intended to make. It would have been brief, though not as brief as the speech made by my hon. Friend the Member for Maidstone (Mr. Wells). We are glad that the Minister has appreciated the arguments put in Committee, and I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment.

§ Mr. Moyle
I beg to move amendment No. 5, in page 2, line 30, at end insert— '(5) In the discharge of its functions the Council shall have proper regard for the interests of all groups within the professions, including those with minority representation.'. I have already explained the purpose of the amendment and will not go over it again. My hon. Friend the Member for Aberdeen, North (Mr. Hughes) was concerned that I had criticised the reasonableness test in another context and he thought that I regarded the word "proper" as meaning the same as "reasonable" in the context of the amendment. That is true. I have no objection in principle to the reasonableness test and the possibility that a matter may go to court. I was objecting to the possibility of relations between the Council and one of its committees being subject to court action.