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Lords debate on Safeguarding Adults
Amendment No. 50A tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Buscombe,
seeks to remove paragraph (h) of Clause 14(1). This provision
exempts those individuals in receipt of a direct payment and those
individuals requiring assistance in the conduct of their
affairs-individuals who have a lasting or enduring power of
attorney, a deputy appointed by the Court of Protection to make
decisions on their behalf, or an appointee taking care of their
benefit or pension payments. As your Lordships will recall, we
debated direct payments at some length in Committee. I understand
that this is an area of concern for many and that opinion remains
divided in terms of how best to protect individuals in receipt of
direct payments. However, I must reiterate some of the arguments I
raised in Committee. Direct payments are about giving individuals
more choice and control over their lives-empowering them-and any
move to place direct payments recipients in the mandatory sector
would be met with strong resistance by the recipients themselves.
The wishes of those benefiting from direct payments must be
paramount when considering the requirements of the Bill.
I would also point out that our approach has received widespread
support from those organisations representing users of direct
payments. For example, Menghi Mulchandani, co-chair of the
National Centre for Independent Living, has stated that compelling
people to check potential users against a barred list would deny
them the opportunity to take the risks that others are free to
take.
However, we understand the concerns raised in relation to this
group of people and we accept that more could be done, perhaps via
the direct payment support services that exist in most local
authorities, to support individuals in accessing the scheme.
Therefore, we intend to place a duty on all local authorities to
inform direct payments recipients about their right to engage with
the vetting and barring scheme. We are currently looking at how
that might be achieved, and I look forward to sharing the outcome
of that exercise with noble Lords at Third Reading. That approach
has been endorsed by a number of stakeholders, including Action
on Elder Abuse.
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