The following article was published yesterday on the Liberal Democrat Voice Website.

There’s praise in the Guardian for Norman Lamb’s work on mental health and for his efforts on social care. They assess him as a good but not a great minister – although they then go on to make pretty clear that the things he couldn’t deliver were because they were blocked by the Tories. Norman’s judgement on what needed to be done seems to have been pretty much exemplary

First, on mental health:

Once in post, Lamb threw himself into the role with gusto. He combined a heavy Westminster workload – not least ensuring passage of the watershed Care Act – with a remorseless programme of visits to observe care practice and engage with professionals, carers and people who use services. He always seemed accessible: approached by strangers on the train from his North Norfolk constituency to London, he would happily set aside his papers and chat.

Ray James, president of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, says: “Norman combined insight and integrity to help ensure a landmark piece of social care legislation was delivered with people across the sector. The time he took to listen to those working at the frontline was always invaluable and appreciated. He can look back knowing that he made a difference.”

One difference that Lamb undoubtedly made, or at least helped in no small part to make, was the greatly enhanced profile of mental health. Paul Farmer, chief executive of mental health charity Mind, describes him as “a fantastic advocate” who was clearly passionate about the cause. “As minister, he was involved in a number of key drives to improve mental health services, from the crisis care concordat to the introduction of the first waiting times and access standards for mental health.”

There was criticism of the outcomes on better provision for people with learning disabilities – but, again, this seems to be about factors beyond his control.

This was not for any lack of commitment on Lamb’s part. As Jan Tregelles, chief executive of learning disability charity Mencap, puts it: “He listened to families, cared personally about what is happening to people with a learning disability and went the extra mile to drive change across a complex and fragmented health and care system. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough.”

What the failure of the Winterbourne View legacy programme exposed, perhaps, was Lamb’s naivety in thinking everyone else in the health and care system shared both his commitment to do the right thing and his sense of outrage at the wrong thing. He learned the hard way that simply pulling levers at the centre is never sufficient to make change happen – especially when dealing with the weak commissioning side of the system.

It’s not a bad end of term report and we may well discover in the next few years just how good he was.