My Lords, I suppose that, with any Bill, the challenge for the Government is often to provide added clarification. That is exactly what we are doing, perhaps to emphasise the point that the noble Lord himself has highlighted from other elements of the Bill. I am sure that the noble Lord will come back on these issues, but if I can provide further detail on the specific actions that this would thereby permit, I will. As I said, it is a point of clarification, and I will write to the noble Lord on this point.
The best way I can sum up Amendment 37 in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Chapman, is that it is a well-trodden theme in the context of the Bill. The positions and different perspectives on this issue are noted. All I add is that the Government’s intention is to ensure that the powers—the ability for a Minister of the Crown to issue guidance to industry or provide direction to officials in relation to the regime put in place under the protocol—reflect their ability to carry out their responsibilities. In this case I can see no reason why Ministers should be able to issue “appropriate” direction in relation to trade with the EU via the short straits but only “necessary” directions over the Irish Sea.
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Although the noble Baroness has not spoken in this debate, I know from previous debates that she is worried about the scope of executive action. Everyone is concerned by this when they are sitting on one side of the House. The usual channels of judicial review will be available, but I have noted the various concerns aired in previous debates on this issue of “appropriate” and “necessary”.
I turn to Amendment 38 in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Ritchie. With her permission, I will first pick up on the valuable contributions of the noble Lord, Lord Empey. We have been engaging with Northern Irish parties. I know that when the Executive was operational there were regular meetings between the then Minister for Europe, now the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland—and indeed my noble
friend Lord Caine—and the various representatives. In the interests of time, rather than detailing the level or number of meetings, I suggest to the noble Lord, Lord Empey, as I have said to him outside the Chamber, that we would really welcome his insights and valuable experience in this regard. I speak for my noble friend Lord Caine and others in the Northern Ireland department. Both they and I will be pleased to speak to the noble Lord to see how we can perhaps further enhance the engagement that we currently have on the ground with key parties and people.
The noble Lord’s point about wider delegations and representations is noticed. We value our devolved Administrations very highly in our engagements over international agreements, even when they are under reserved powers. On the wider point of engagement with the devolved Administrations, a point also raised in this debate, my understanding is that those have taken place, continue to take place and will continue to be updated as we make progress.