I say to the noble Lord, Lord True, that there is a real difference of opinion within this House. For many, the point at which Article 50 is triggered is one at which they need that reassurance, and I hope that the Minister will take that on board because we have quite a range of amendments that have come forward. The amendment of the noble Baroness, Lady Jones, stands rather separately because it focuses on issues around the regulation and enforcement of environmental protection under whatever will be the new regime. However, nearly all the other amendments call for an impact assessment because there are regions of the country and sectors of our economy that are concerned that the Government have not taken their issues on board and do not understand the impact that the shape of their negotiations will have on those regions and sectors. My noble friend Lord Shipley is
exactly right to say that the Government have thought that impact assessments were entirely appropriate for some sectors and regions, including London, the region that is closest to my heart. That does not mean that the same degree of attention, engagement and dialogue is not necessary for other parts of the country and those many varied sectors. As I say, I hope the Government will take that very much to heart.
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A number of noble Lords said that impact assessments were pointless. Let us hope not, because it is precisely on the basis of impact assessments that the Government are shaping their trade negotiations and sending out their negotiators to talk to Mr Barnier and the other members of the EU negotiating team. If they have done those assessments badly, we are all going to pay a price.
One way to be assured that the assessments have not been done badly is to pick up exactly the point of the noble Lord, Lord Kerslake, and ensure that they are in the public arena so that there is proper dialogue around them and, where there are problems and issues, that they are identified before mistakes are locked into a negotiating process. I say this as someone who has watched government negotiations very close-up on a number of issues, and I am very concerned about the closed thinking that often shapes government negotiations and becomes their inevitable flaw.
A point that was made by the noble Lords, Lord Blencathra and Lord Forsyth, was that an impact assessment that showed where we had strengths and weaknesses would undermine our negotiating position. The first rule of any negotiation is to respect the other side. The assumption that Mr Barnier, with all the resources of the EU behind him, is incapable of doing an impact assessment in as much detail as the British Government, or perhaps even greater detail, is a foolish one. The other side will know our strengths and weaknesses before we go into that negotiation, and that is something that our negotiators in turn should be very well aware of. It means that a level playing field is established very quickly in the negotiation.