Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill [HL]

I have a further point about Amendment 91A. The Minister was perfectly correct in saying that, if there is ambiguity in legislation nowadays, the House of Lords in its judicial capacity in Pepper and Hart said that a ministerial statement in the course of the debate, which can be read in Hansard, can be used to clarify that ambiguity. Surely, however, if there is an opportunity in the course of the debate to clear up the ambiguity by presenting in the Bill a better, clearer form of words, it would be better to do that than to leave it open to doubt so that, in years to come, somebody, somewhere, in some local authority—some solicitor at some expense—has to check Hansard for 28 January 2009. I do not know whether he would even find it in the index very easily. It is usually better to clarify an ambiguity, if there is one, before going any further with the legislation.