My Lords, I am grateful to all those who have spoken, although I cannot say it always made for the easiest listening. I have been in opposition, and will be again one day, so I fully understand where those noble Lords who expressed concerns are coming from. I have also been on the Back Benches on my side, and will be again one day, so I fully understand where my colleagues are coming from as well.
It is unsatisfactory that so many amendments have been laid. I apologised for that. It is not, in any of your Lordships’ submission, sufficient. I could tell a few tales out of school, but I am a believer in the old concept that the Minister at the Dispatch Box takes full and personal responsibility for the criticisms that are made. I accept that. The amendments should have been brought forward in a more informative—to use the word from the very impressive speech by the noble Baroness opposite, whom I look forward to working with on the Bill—and timely manner.
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I hope we can do better as we go forward. I will certainly pass on to my right honourable colleague who is leading on the legislation the concerns expressed by your Lordships. I will certainly take away and act on the request your Lordships have made in different guises in this debate.
I regret to learn that the Keeling schedule has not been available to all. I was informed that it had been published on the Bill’s website, but perhaps not enough was done to bring it to the attention of interested noble Lords. I will make sure that access to it is made available to all those participating in your Lordships’ Grand Committee.
On the amendment before us—I will deal with the rest of the group in the broadest terms—my understanding is that, as a result of frank and useful discussions in the usual channels, there is an understanding that many of your Lordships are unhappy about proceeding at this juncture without further explanation. Without going through each amendment at this stage, given it is likely that many of them will come forward at a later stage—although this remains to be the outcome of ongoing negotiations—I certainly give an undertaking that I will ask insistently that the Committee has the kind of explanation that the noble Baroness asked for on the amendments that the Government have tabled. We will begin on Wednesday with another clump of government amendments. I fully take the criticisms
and will ask that a much clearer schedule is put before your Lordships, bit by bit, on each of the matters we are asking you to deliberate on. Indeed, I heard what was said about the dearth of detailed explanatory statements on the matter. We will do better. I will take that concern away.