Dobson returns to Commons fray

Frank Dobson back on the backbenches

Labour's Frank Dobson has made his first Commons speech since his humiliating defeat in London's mayoral election earlier this month.

A fortnight after scraping into third place at the poll won by independent Ken Livingstone, Mr Dobson appeared in the chamber to welcome government proposals to drive up national care standards as a "major step forward".

As he spoke from the backbenches the former health secretary was listened to from the government frontbench by Alan Milburn, the man who took over the cabinet job he sacrificed in order to enter the race for mayor.

Mr Dobson, sporting a tan, congratulated ministers on bringing forward the Care Standards Bill and hailed it as "another Labour promise being kept".

'Decisive action'

The former health secretary spoke to a sparsely populated chamber

The Holborn & St Pancras MP, who made no reference to the bitter mayoral campaign, said the Bill took "decisive action" to protect frail and vulnerable people.

The record on provision of care services had been "at best patchy and in some circumstances absolutely shamefully deplorable," he told MPs.

"I don't blame the staff concerned. In some cases where molestation of children has gone on for years, everyone has been at fault, including people on both sides of this House, in failing to take necessary action.

"For many services no standards have ever been set. That's bad for the people who are being cared for and their relatives because they don't know what they are entitled to expect.

"Even where standards have been set, the regulatory system and the inspection system has been grossly inadequate."

Scandalous

Mr Dobson said that after a long series of "scandalous failures" the previous Conservative government had done practically nothing.

"Practically the only thing that changed in relation to child molesting was that child molesters managed to con the news media into referring to them as paedophiles, instead of child molesters!" he said.

Across the board, services were not good enough, he said. The public was entitled to know that home helps would not steal from vulnerable people, residential homes were safe and staffed by professionals and children in care would not be molested.

Mr Dobson attacked the regulation of private hospitals, some of which, he said, were carrying out operations for which they were not "properly equipped" and did not have decent resuscitation equipment.

"This Bill is a really substantial and major step forward," he added.

Mr Dobson's speech came the same day London Mayor Ken Livingstone announced a further appointment to his cabinet for the capital.

Judith Mayhew, head of the Corporation of London, has joined Mr Livingstone's cabinet for the capital as his City and business adviser.