My Lords, I am most grateful to the Minister for what I consider to be a really quite overwhelming response to this set of amendments. We have had a very important debate. I would love to summarise what each person has said, but I am aware that the Committee has other amendments to get on to. I would like to highlight the fact that the toxic trio was launched into our debate on Monday by the noble Lord, Lord Marks of Henley, and picked up again by the noble Baroness, Lady Burt, and it has been the focus around which many people have spoken. I am delighted to hear about the sobriety scheme and sobriety tags being brought in for alcohol-fuelled crime. I was part of that original amendment, some years ago, that allowed the pilot scheme to happen, and have seen the evidence from the US in particular of the efficacy in domestic situations as well. I am grateful in
particular to the noble Lord, Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe, for that, and to the noble Lord, Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, for putting local authority services so strongly on the table, with the noble Baronesses, Lady Boycott, Lady Uddin and Lady Wilcox.
2.15 pm
I will be withdrawing my amendment; let me leave no doubt about that. I have a slight concern, though. We really need to get something, somewhere on the face of the Bill, because I am aware of the adverse pressures that come from the commercial world, where the sale of alcohol brings in profits. Of course, the money coming into the Exchequer nowhere near matches the expenditure on the harmful effects of alcohol. I hope that the Minister will meet me between now and Report, for us to look at putting something in somewhere, rather than only in guidance. I accept that it will be statutory guidance, and I would like those reassurances again on Report to make sure that we do not lose sight of this. If we do, we will lose an incredibly important opportunity to make a difference to both victims’ and perpetrators’ lives. As has already been said, sometimes the victim, who is addicted to alcohol, has behaviours that are so goading that it is then almost unsurprising that this results in a downward spiral of abuse, and the one fuels the other. In the meantime, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment.