Racial and Religious Hatred Bill

I rise to support my noble friend. We cannot legislate across the Chamber tonight. Let us be wholly practical. To that end, I want to ask one question about the future. I am sorry to do so without giving notice to my noble friend, but perhaps she will respond by saying that she will write to me. Everything depends on the Government’s decision: what they can offer the House after the amendments have been agreed with such a large majority. While I pre-judge nothing, if a government proposal on how we might reach a consensus on this Bill were to be produced, at least in outline, can my noble friend assure us that it would not be produced on the day before it is considered on Report? It should be issued with a few days’ notice; that is reasonable. Many of us will need that time to study it, particularly if it turns out to be perhaps the most important document of all. I appreciate that my noble friend may not be able to commit herself to a precise period of time, but can we have an assurance that any document would be made available at a reasonable point before Report so that it can be studied with the care it would deserve?