MEDICAL BILL [H.L.] (Hansard, 2 February 1978)

§ Lord WELLS-PESTELL
My Lords, I beg to move that this Bill be now read a third time.

§ Lord WELLS-PESTELL
My Lords, I beg to move that this Bill do now pass.

§ Lord SANDYS
My Lords, on the passing of this very important Bill, I should like to express appreciation for what the Government have done during the Bill's passage through this House. I should especially like to thank the noble Lord, Lord Wells-Pestell, and his colleagues for a great deal of personal attention given, and my noble friend Lord Hunt 856 of Fawley for the very great care with which he moved and redrafted a whole series of Amendments. They will be of great value to both the public generally and to the professions in particular.

§ Lord WELLS-PESTELL
My Lords, it is not my intention to keep your Lordships for any length of time, but I should like to say that those of your Lordships who have followed the passage of the Medical Bill through this House will realise that it was not exactly uneventful. Since that Second Reading the Government have been able to get a good deal of agreement and help and, as I said at Report stage, the Bill was very substantially extended. The Government, in order to accommodate the extent ion, did in fact, with your Lordships' consent, amend the Long Title so that, when it goes to another place, it will be possible to cover nearly all the recommendations of the Merrison Report in the Bill.
I think the only thing I wish to say, apart from that, is that so much has been accomplished in so little time, because three months ago it seemed quite inconceivable that we should be able to get such substantial agreement as was ultimately achieved. So far as I personally am concerned, there has been no other occasion since I have been a Member of your Lordships' House, so far as I can remember, when the Opposition have got everything they asked for—it is the very first time.