My Lords, I thank my noble friend. She certainly came out fighting for Clauses 34, 35 and 36. I thank the noble Baroness, Lady King, for her very thoughtful contribution.
What we are trying to get at—and I do not think we are that far apart, actually, in substance—are the realities of supply of digital software. This is not an attempt to drive a coach and horses through the Bill or, to use another metaphor, to steal a march in this respect. As the noble Baroness, Lady King, said, we have to try to maintain a careful balance in these circumstances. Those who are propounding amendments to the Bill are a very responsible group of software companies, such as those represented by FAST and techUK. This is not some mirage that has been put up. They are seriously concerned about the nature of consumer expectations.
In reference particularly to Clause 35, my noble friend said, “No, no, we cannot have that amendment because it will not provide us with clarity”. We are all on the same page as far as that is concerned. What we want is clarity. Obviously, I will read what my noble friend had to say but actually an awful lot of what is in these amendments is a response to what Professor Bradgate had to say. But the Government are proposing to deal with this via consumer guidance rather than in the Bill. The big question is whether that is adequate to give sufficient clarity in the case of dispute. That is what it is all about.
We have spent many, many happy days in this House arguing whether having something in the Bill is better than having it in regulation or in guidance. In this case, with a very important industry such as the software industry, which is highly competitive—and if it cannot innovate, that will actually reduce its competitiveness—it is completely the other way round from the argument that the Minister used. Software companies need to be able to innovate and we must allow them to innovate. What concerns me is that if there is not clarity in the contract between the consumer and the software provider, that will have damaging consequences for a highly competitive industry.
I do not think that we are very far apart in our intentions but we differ over what we believe the remedy to be for the particular issues that the software industry has. I will consider Hansard. I hope that my noble friend will likewise consider what I have said with some care, particularly the issue about the changing nature of some of the software over a period of time, particularly security software. She was adamant about Clause 36 and the need for the content to be as described but we are dealing with—I do not know which Greek mythological creature changed over a period of time but it is rather akin to that. You think it is one thing but it has to respond to changing threats in security over a period of time and you may end up with a slightly different product. So it is not simply that you are going to get what is described right at the outset of the contract. That is too black and white a view. Nevertheless, the whole purpose of Grand Committee is to have a debate about these things and unpack some of the issues, and I very much hope that we can continue that discussion with the industry. In the mean time, I beg leave to withdraw.