My Lords, it seems that noble Lords agree that this part of the Bill needs serious strengthening. The Minister talked about steps, but the noble Baroness, Lady Parminter, quite rightly said that the word “steps” is completely inadequate.
Noble Lords agreed that the connections I laid out at the start of the debate are essential. The noble Baroness, Lady Bennett, commented on this. The noble Baroness, Lady Young, talked about the lack of focus in the current EIPs and expressed her concerns over how we will see any outcomes delivered from this. The noble Lord, Lord Krebs, put his finger on it when he said that the key issue is linking together the pieces of the jigsaw. The noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell, said that the minimum requirements would need to be at the front.
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So I am sorry but I am just not convinced by the Minister’s response. The issues that this amendment addresses are important and should not be set aside on the grounds that the Minister seems to think that everything will be all right. He clearly believes that the 25-year plan is ambitious. It does contain a lot but, to be blunt, the gap in terms of connection between this part of the Bill and the previous clauses is pretty hopeless and does not seem to relate at all to what is in the 25-year environment plan.
We will return to this on Report but, for now, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.