My Lords, Amendment 41CA is in the same group as the amendment moved by my noble and learned friend Lord Hope of Craighead. It should be understood that I agree with everything that my noble and learned friend has said in support of his amendment. The amendment in my name is a much shorter form of that. It sets out an addition to Schedule 2 to the Enterprise Act 2002:
“A judge of the High Court of England and Wales, the Court of Session or the High Court of Northern Ireland shall be eligible for appointment as a chairman if nominated by the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, the Lord President of the Court of Session and the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland respectively”—
who are all the senior judges in their respective jurisdictions.
I do not think that the House would be assisted by my going over the detail of the submission made by my noble and learned friend Lord Hope of Craighead. The main point that I wish to stress is that, when one looks at the consultation document, to which reference has been made, it would appear that the purposes that the Government have in mind for their intended legislation are precisely the purposes that would be served by Amendment 41B, if it were accepted, and likewise my own Amendment 41CA, if the same thing happened to it.
It is instructive to bear in mind, therefore, that in paragraphs 5.14 and 5.15 of the consultation document, the Government explicitly say that they are “minded to legislate”: first, to deal with the appointment problem encountered in Scotland; and, secondly, to deal with the fact that those who achieve appointment as chairmen of the Competition Appeal Tribunal can serve for only eight years.
In conclusion, if the Minister is of the view that the government policy has changed, it would be instructive to the judges, both north and south of the border, if that change in policy was made quite clear. If there is some concern about the precise drafting of either my amendment or that moved by my noble and learned friend, it could be easily corrected in time for Third Reading.
6.45 pm