I thank noble Lords for their comments. First, on the agreement, the text has been agreed by Ministers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. I thought it best to share it as soon as possible; I wanted to share it in advance—it was not far in advance but it was slightly in advance—rather than not share it at all. We originally committed to sharing it ahead of Report; I will ensure that all noble Lords have the opportunity properly to scrutinise it ahead of that and we can return to the issue then. Once noble
Lords have had an opportunity to discuss it, I would be very happy to arrange a further briefing with officials for anyone interested in this subject.
6.15 pm
For the benefit of saving the life of the noble Baroness, Lady Chapman, which is of course crucial for me, I confirm that Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish Ministers—particularly the Welsh—are all content with these arrangements and have written to give in-principle consent on the basis of them, so she should be safe for a little while longer. All are working to secure time in their legislatures. I cannot give definite dates yet for the Motions to be passed by all three; that is, of course, a matter for their own Assemblies and Parliaments. Sadly, Northern Ireland does not currently have a formal chief scientific adviser position. It is updating its structures and the language in the agreement reflects that.
On the Barnett consequentials, or rather not on that issue, this is still UK-wide funding, so we do not expect it to impact on the arrangements around funding to devolved Governments. In response to the point from the noble Lord, Lord Fox, about the framework agreement, that is not part of this agreement. The framework agreement is a governance document, for the UK Government. BEIS is the sponsoring department, so it is only to do with BEIS and does not concern the devolved Administrations.
As I reiterated, once noble Lords have had a chance to read these documents a bit more closely, I would be very happy to discuss further to arrange a briefing meeting with the relevant officials. Obviously, a lot of discussion has gone on in the background on this, but if the process was a little imperfect, I hope noble Lords will agree that, in essence, we have ended up in a good position. I am sure we will return to this subject. With those reassurances, I will move the amendments for which I am responsible.