I thank all noble Lords who have spoken in this debate. I was grateful for the opportunity to probe the extent to which this procedure of super-affirmative resolution may be more appropriate.
My noble friend Lord Naseby might not think that this is a matter of life and death, but if you are dealing with perishable goods—particularly animals and their movement over what will be internal borders—that might be the case. I part company with my noble friend on the EU-Japan agreement; it actually does not go that far. My understanding is that what was heralded as a bigger market for cheese, which will be very welcome, relies on the EU allowing us to use what is left of its quota that it does not wish to use. It is the leftovers—the crumbs under the table. It could be very helpful to our cheese producers, but it is not quite as straightforward as one might first think.
5 pm
I still persist in saying that there are advantages—I am sorry that I have not taken the Committee with me—to the super-affirmative resolution: namely, having two bites of the cherry and a chance to look at and amend regulations before they are introduced, which I think is deeply flawed in so many instances in this Bill. It would not necessarily lead to a further delay because, as the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee has noted, both Houses of Parliament can act extremely quickly when we need to. We just need a reasonable timeline to allow dialogue between the Government and the devolved Administrations.
I thank the noble Lord, Lord Judd, for his kind comments. We are all agreed on accountability and the supremacy of Parliament in that regard. To the noble Lord, Lord Gresford, I say that, if I have not been successful here, I hope he will look favourably on my amendments that will come very shortly, seeking consent as well as consultation in various instances where I believe that is appropriate. I join the noble Lord, Lord Stevenson, in thanking the Law Society of Scotland for giving us this opportunity to look at this.
I also thank my noble friend Lord True for his remarks in summing up and stress, without labouring the point at any length, that the noble Lord, Lord Purvis, has a point, particularly in relation to Clause 8, where the definition of “legitimate aim” could be changed. This can have significant consequences, which I fear, in relation to delegated powers, may not be sufficiently explored by the Secretary of State, the Government and the devolved Administrations. However, I am grateful to have had the opportunity to debate this procedure, which I am sure we can look at on future occasions in future Bills. At this stage, I beg leave to withdraw Amendment 14.