Compensation Bill [HL]

My Lords, I warmly welcome these amendments. This will come as no surprise to the noble Baroness; as she has already indicated, amendments very close to these were in my name in Committee. I am delighted that the Government has listened. I believe that these amendments both strengthen and clarify Clause 1, better defining its intended remit. It has been a great pleasure to work with the Minister. I say ““work with”” because it has never been ““against””. We are united in our resolve and objective for the Compensation Bill. The process of seeing the Bill safely into port has been greatly enhanced by the Minister’s open and consensual approach. We have not, of course, agreed on every dot and comma of the Bill, but the Minister and her outstandingly good officials have listened carefully throughout to the points raised and always responded constructively. I would also add—though it may not be quite so palatable—that it is a pleasure to find a Minister who changes her mind. In Committee, the noble Baroness said:"““I cannot add it in because I believe that it would do the one thing that I am keen not to do, which is to cause confusion””.—[Official Report, 15/12/05; col. GC 192]" I very much welcome the fact that I have had the opportunity to satisfy the Minister that the amendment brings clarity, not confusion. That is why I think the Minister is an example to her colleagues; every Member of the Opposition and every Back-Bencher wishes that Ministers listened as much as the noble Baroness has done. It has also been a pleasure to listen to the interventions of the noble Lord, Lord Goodhart, and those of other colleagues and noble friends in Committee, including the noble Lords, Lord Greenway and Lord Lucas, the noble Viscount, Lord Eccles, and the noble Earl, Lord Erroll. As so often in the past, Grand Committee procedure has brought out the very best in our system and those who work within it. We have already improved the Bill considerably. I pay tribute to the Clerks for producing a Committee Hansard, which brings together in one volume all five stages of the Grand Committee. That has been remarkably useful and is, I hope, a precedent for what may happen in the future. Finally, I believe the Government’s amendments succeed in addressing most of the substantive points raised in Committee by those of us on the Opposition Benches. There will still be some disagreement, but we really are making progress.