Climate Change Bill [HL]

Clearly, we are grateful for the government amendments and the other proposals are welcome, but the whole crunch of this will surely come back to money, which is what we are talking about now. Will it come from Defra—we are all too aware of the pressures on the Defra budget—or will it come from local authorities, which has been mentioned before? I am looking at the noble Baroness, Lady Young, to see whether the Environment Agency has the support that it needs to fulfil what it is already supposed to do. I do not expect the Minister to be able to answer today, but could he give us some idea? There must have been a cost analysis on the government proposals. Could that be shared with us before we come back at Report? I am not asking for the exact figure; just the general terms. Has the department looked at this—not only the department dealing with this Bill, but the Treasury? Has the Treasury come forward and said, ““Yes we support this.””? If money is not made available we would just be paying lip service. It would also be helpful to know whether this will be over a two-year, five-year or 10-year period, because at the moment, as a layman, that is not clear. I would be grateful for clarification on that point.