Lords Chamber

Thursday 26th March 2026

(began 2 hours, 19 minutes ago)

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Lord Roe of West Wickham Portrait Lord Roe of West Wickham (Labour)
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My Lords, my Lords, my Lords, we >> My Lords, my Lords, my Lords, we know from the security services. >> I'd like to ask my noble friend,

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I'd like to ask my noble friend, the Minister a practical question. But first I must commend the actions of my former colleagues in actions of my former colleagues in tackling this terrible incident, this vile attack on the Jewish community in London. They face great danger and difficulty in doing so, I'm sure of that. Having spoken to them, my question is focussed actually, and builds on the question from the noble Lord Paddick, which is what is the Home Office doing in combination with the Department for Communities and Local Government in Interfaith work? Because my experience in these matters is that after the events escalated in the Middle East, we saw an extraordinary rise in the London Fire Brigade and in the Metropolitan Police are physical attacks on both the Jewish and Muslim communities almost in parallel.

And our view, certainly as professionals in the security and safety space, was that more needed to be done in the work to to generate cooperation and mutual understanding and counter some of the vile politics, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia that we were seeing in the most awful way played out in physical attack on the streets. So my question is, what are we doing in the interfaith space to support local community groups? Doing great work? Very often, but not always with the resources they need.
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Lord Kennedy of Southwark Portrait Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour)
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My Lords, that concludes. Our questions for today. Business statement. The Chief Whip. >> My Lords, as a pre recess treat, I thought I'd update the House on I thought I'd update the House on planned recess dates. I've already announced most recess dates until Christmas this year. I can now add the short November weekend when my Lord. The plan is to rise. Inclusion of business on Wednesday the 4th of November and return on Monday the 9th of November. Beyond this year.

I'm also delighted to update the plan for the February and Easter Recesses 2027 to save noble Lords from hurrying to write these down. My office, as has arranged a notice to be in the usual places with all recess dates, I will shortly email all noble Lords, subject to the usual caveats of the progress of business. I intend for the House to be adjourned as follows. In February 2027, we will adjourn the House at the end of business on Thursday 11th of February and return on Monday the 22nd of February for Easter recess.

We will adjourn at the conclusion of peace on Thursday the 25th of March and return on Monday the 12th of April. Hope the noble Lords will find this helpful in planning, especially booking well-deserved holidays and meeting family and friends. I'd also like to thank all noble Lords and staff for their productive term. We have concluded a range of important business and I'm grateful to the whole House facilitating this vital scrutiny we undertake. Finally, noble Lords might note that the Leader of the House of Commons has just confirmed the Other place.

The State Opening of Parliament will take place on Wednesday the 13th of May. Noble Lords will get further information on the arrangements from Black's Rod's office in due course. We will return in April. For the last few weeks, sitting weeks of this session before I'm asked, I should also say that the date of prorogation will be announced in the usual way, subject to conclusion of business. Whichever one. A restful and well

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deserved Easter recess. Business of the House. The Lord

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Privy Seal. My Lords, I beg to approve the motion. Standing in my name on the

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Order Paper. The question is that there's a motion be agreed to. As many as are motion be agreed to. As many as are of the opinion will say content Of the contrary, not content. the contents have it. Questions on a statement made in the House of Commons on Tuesday, the 24th of
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None Portrait Statement: Middle East: Economic Update Baroness Neville-Rolfe (Conservative)
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alleged price gouging. This smacks of playing to a not very well informed gallery. But what exactly informed gallery. But what exactly do the government intend here? The Chancellor has praised countries such as Norway and Canada for such as Norway and Canada for increasing oil and gas production for, in her words, playing their for, in her words, playing their part in securing energy supplies during a time of conflict. Yet here at home, the government refuses to do the same. The Energy Secretary continues to block increased production in the North Sea, so the government applauds others for strengthening their energy security while wilfully weakening our own.

As pure masochism, we could scarcely be entering this crisis in a weaker position. We face the highest industrial energy costs in the developed world, with consumer prices not far behind, and just today, the OECD has said that the war in the Middle East will hit UK growth hardest of all, with inflation set to accelerate, the government speaks of reducing dependence on energy imports, yet its own actions are driving us in precisely the opposite direction. That is a self-inflicted vulnerability.

This, my Lords, is a dangerous position to be in. And so I gently say to the noble Lord, the Minister, that the public will not thank the government for ideological gestures. They will expect practical action to secure our energy future. It ought not to be beyond the wit of government to expand green energy supplies, whilst also sustaining supply through oil and gas, which we will simply import more of if we do not produce it at home. My Lords, I also want to briefly mention the Defence investment plan.

It was very unedifying to see the Prime Minister discomfited when he was asked about this at the most recent Liaison Committee meeting on Tuesday, the Defence Select Committee heard from industry leaders that without the defence Investment plan, which is now well overdue, some defence manufacturers are going bust, while others have been left in paralysis and bleeding cash. These are quotes, my Lords. The plan was originally expected last autumn, but it has been repeatedly postponed despite repeated warnings that our armed forces face a £28 billion funding gap.

Can I ask the noble Lord, the Minister, when we will see the plan? The Chancellor said her response to the crisis in the Middle East would be responsive and responsible. I must ask the noble Lord, the Minister, what on earth is responsible about this? A refusal to agree a defence funding plan when the Mod faces a 28 billion black hole. British defence firms going under. And all of this at a moment of acute global instability, when our sovereign territory has been attacked and our citizens are being threatened at home.

My Lords, our economic and defence situation is perilous. Gilt yields are at levels not seen since the 2008 financial crisis. Inflation and employment are disturbingly high. Our defences are in a mess. Taxes, borrowing and spending are at record levels and interest rates are going the wrong way. No wonder a respected commentator said this week that he'd never been so concerned that the person nominally in charge of the economy, that is the Chancellor, was manifestly out of their depth.

My Lords, we need better than this.
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Baroness Kramer Portrait Baroness Kramer (Liberal Democrat)
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That if this war with Iran continues, and especially if the Straits of Hormuz remain closed as we approach autumn, the global economy will be in serious trouble and the crisis will impact severely directly on energy prices and more broadly on the cost of living. There was far too little in the Chancellor's speech to give ordinary folk, never mind the market's real reassurance. People are not naive and simply to repeat the steps that the government planned for the economy anyway in the Pre-iraq war world is not sufficient.

The Chancellor indicated that any support beyond changes already in the system would be targeted at those most in need. But what does that mean? Is it limited to the 6 million people who claim welfare or pension credit? Is it correct that Treasury lacks the capacity to identify and assess those who don't qualify for those benefits, but are still very low earners? What should the earnings threshold be for support, and will the will the Chancellor act immediately? At the very least to zero rate VAT on heating oil and liquefied petroleum gas? And will she introduce a proper price cap mechanism for off grid fuels? Will the government also reverse its senseless cuts to home insulation programmes, which will be really important to a wide range of people? In her speech, the Chancellor failed to recognise the dire position of small businesses.

Inflation in January pre-war was at 3%. UK business activity we find today is growing at its slowest pace since September, with a huge jump in manufacturing input prices. But at this time, such a time tax, NICs and other blows from the budget will fall on small businesses in April, a few days away. This government seems really cavalier about loading small businesses with additional costs, even though they are the backbone of our economy and jobs and sustain our local communities.

Now, the government knows that small businesses face a broken energy market that leaves most of them paying inflated energy prices. Will it now instruct the Competition and Markets Authority to investigate suppliers that are blocking small business access to the best energy deals? Will it now change the business rate system so that small businesses can improve their energy efficiency without facing business rate penalties? And will it adopt the idea of an energy security bank to provide low cost loans for households and small businesses to invest in energy efficiency? My Lord, when the country is anxious, it needs a speech from the Chancellor that recognises and responds to the changed reality.

Will someone from the government please give that speech before anxiety becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy?
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Lord Livermore Portrait Lord Livermore, The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Labour)
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I'm very grateful to you both, noble Ladies, Baroness Neville-Rolfe and Baroness Kramer for their comments and their questions. As it is the last day before recess. May I wish both noble Ladies are very Happy Easter in advance. The noble Lady Baroness Neville-Rolfe began her comments welcoming what we are doing on nuclear, and I'm grateful to her for her support on that and for her support as we implement the Fingleton review. As she knows, we've already begun to rewrite the story on nuclear for this country.

We have begun construction at Sizewell C, we've agreed an extension to Sizewell B, and we're due to sign the contracts on the UK's first small modular reactor in Anglesey, in partnership with Rolls Royce. The Chancellor has also confirmed we will legislate to implement the Fingleton review to nuclear and wider infrastructure in the next session, and has also written to industry and to regulators to get them to set out their plans to fast track its implementation. The noble Lady I was disappointed to see indulged in some anti-EU rhetoric, which I know she doesn't actually believe.

I think it makes absolute sense at this time of global instability, that we deepen our economic relationship with our closest partners, and it's very clear that that is where maximum growth will come from for this country. The noble Lady Baroness Neville-Rolfe and also the noble Lady Baroness Kramer, spoke about the Competition and Markets Authority. They have stepped up their statutory monitoring of fuel prices and will publicly update on fuel pricing later this month. They're also working with government to monitor the cost of household essentials, including groceries for price rises and disruption, and they have launched a market study into heating oil on top of their existing work to identify and tackle breaches of consumer law in the heating oil market.

The Chancellor also announced this week that we are going further to make sure they have the bike they need to detect and crack down on price gouging, bringing in a new anti-profiteering framework and considering time limited targeted powers for the CMA and other regulators as needed. And yesterday, the Chancellor and the business Secretary both met and convened the Regulators Council to discuss their work to protect consumers and small businesses. As the noble Lady Baroness Kramer mentioned, in terms of oil and gas, I agree with what the noble Lady Baroness Neville-Rolfe said will ensure the North Sea oil and gas plays an important role in our economy for years to come.

Last week, the Chancellor met with the North Sea industry leaders to discuss their role in jobs, investment and growth and energy supply. The noble Lady also mentioned energy security. She didn't mention the fact that the last government's failure to invest in energy was a failure to protect our country. But through determined long term action, this government is taking control of our own energy supply. We're investing in renewables. Lifting the ban on onshore wind and streamlining grid connections. Running the biggest ever floating offshore wind auction last year and bringing the next renewables auction forward to this July, and driving forward negotiations on the UK's participation in the EU internal electricity market.

As I mentioned already at the beginning, nuclear, which she did welcome. We must guarantee our domestic oil and gas industry can play a crucial role as well for years to come. So we are investing in Tiebacks to make the most of existing production facilities. And we have also announced that she's the Chancellor has announced that she's instructed officials to develop plans to back critical energy projects with indemnities if they're planning consent is challenged in the courts so that we can build the infrastructure that we need to build.

The noble Lady mentioned the OECD projections out this morning. As she knows, the war in the Middle East is not one that we started, nor is it a war that we have joined, but it is a war that will have an impact on our country. The OECD's projections are highly sensitive to the duration of the shock and reflect the impact of higher energy prices, which the UK, as she knows, is more susceptible to. But I do think in an uncertain world we do have the right economic plan.

The decisions we have taken have put us in a better position to protect the country's finances and family finances from global economic instability. The noble Lady, both noble Ladies, touched on the economic situation that we find ourselves in. The full economic impact of the conflict remains uncertain, but the spring forecast did show that the government has the right economic plan, that we enter this period of global uncertainty with the fundamentals of our economy strong, and that we are more prepared for a more volatile world.

We have cut inflation standing now at 3%, a lower basin at the outset of Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine. We have prioritised growth to drive up living standards. The OBR forecast before this conflict showed that GDP per head was set to grow more than was expected at the budget, with growth of 5.6% over the course of this Parliament, and we have stabilised the public finances, having already reduced the deficit by £20 billion this year from 5.2% to 4.3% of GDP, its lowest level for six years and the fastest reduction in the G7.

As I say, of course, these forecasts predate the current conflict in the Middle East, but Britain today is in a stronger position to withstand whatever uncertainty comes our way. The noble Lady Baroness Neville-Rolfe spoke about defence. We are delivering the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War. The Chancellor has approved access to the Ministry of Defence to use the special reserve to deploy additional capabilities to the Middle East, meaning that net additional costs of these operations will be funded by the Treasury.

The Defence Investment Plan will be published in due course. We're investing £270 billion over this Parliament, after years of our armed forces being neglected under the previous government, will increase defence spending to 2.6% of GDP from 2027, and we're increasing spending on defence by £5 billion in this year alone. Finally, both noble Ladies spoke about energy bills. The noble Lady Baroness Neville-Rolfe asked me what responsible meant. I think it means that as we respond to this crisis, we should learn from the mistakes of the past.

The previous government pushed up borrowing, pushed up interest rates, inflation and mortgage costs with an unfunded, untargeted package of support under Liz Truss that gave the most support to the wealthiest households between 2022 and 2024. Under the last government, households in the top income decile received an average of £1,350 of Direct Energy bill support that left us with high levels of national debt. A check written then for a bill that is still being paid today, contingency planning is taking place for every eventuality, so we can keep costs down for everyone and provide support for those who need it most.

Acting within our ironclad fiscal rules to keep inflation and interest rates as low as possible.
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Lord Livermore Portrait Lord Livermore, The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Labour)
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Yeah, well.

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The noble Lord will know and I'm grateful to him for his question. The noble Lord will know that the previous government increased previous government increased welfare spending by £88 billion in the last five years. So that is quite a legacy for us to have inherited. He'll also know that we inherited. He'll also know that we are delivering the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War. The Chancellor, as I've said, already, Chancellor, as I've said, already, has approved access for the Ministry of Defence to use the special reserve to deploy additional capabilities in the additional capabilities in the Middle East.

He asked me for how we will increase defence spending. We're investing £270 billion over the course of this Parliament, after years of our armed forces being neglected under the previous government, will increase defence spending to 2.6% of GDP from 2027. We're increasing spending on defence by £5 billion in this year alone. Our ambition is to reach 3% in the next Parliament when fiscal and economic conditions allow. We're not going to put an arbitrary date on that percentage until we know exactly where the money is coming from.

I should also say that this. This week, the Chancellor announced a new defence procurement mechanism where a group, a core group of NATO allies Finland, the Netherlands, the UK, together with other partners, have announced they are exploring setting up a new mechanism by 2027 for financing, with the aim of to aggregate demand, drive joint procurement, accelerate defence investment and increase the availability of critical capabilities.
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Baroness Bowles of Berkhamsted Portrait Baroness Bowles of Berkhamsted (Liberal Democrat)
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I beg to move that this bill be. Now read a third time. >> The question is this Bill be. Now read a third time. As many of that opinion say, content the contrary, not content. The contents contrary, not content. The contents have it in clause 42, amendment one

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Baroness Bowles of Berkhamsted. My Lords, I didn't expect to be back moving amendments quite so quickly, but despite the 20. Supplementary amendments or consequential amendments that I consequential amendments that I moved in the in the last stage report, there appear to be four more that have come to light. I there there printed on the Marshalled List and said they are entirely consequential on the amendment 52 that deleted Mandation and therefore all I seek to do to amendments one, two, three, and eight is to move them formally.



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When the time comes, I beg to move. Amendment proposed clause 42,

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Amendment proposed clause 42, page one, line 39 leave out or

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subsection removed. Perhaps I. Could say a.

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Word or two at this stage about the government amendment four, because it relates, I understand, because it relates, I understand, to amendment 156, which the noble Baroness. The Minister moved on Monday that amendment 156, which had wide crossbench support, as I understood, coming as it did after an amendment in the other place supported, as I say, across party and particularly by the Liberal Democrats, gave the government the responsibility and the ability to issue guidance, statutory guidance on the issue of fiduciary duty of trustees in relation to systemic issues, including those of climate change, but many more.

The same amendment. And in response to that, Minister in in in the Commons said that the government would bring forward both plans to ensure that the guidance reflected the views of all within the sector and that it was guidance that could be useful to trustees. And all I've ever been interested in is bringing forward something that would help those involved with investment decisions in for pensions to be able to take into account with confidence, the long term systemic issues that they found themselves.

But I'm in danger of of repeating, which I'm sure would not want me to do. Are there arguments what I am concerned about following the debate for which at the vote, which I still don't understand on amendment one, five six on Monday, is what the government will now do. It is committed to this course of action. It's committed and it has taken a great deal of effort in setting up the technical Working Group, in getting views from across the sector.

It would be a real shame if that work were somehow to be halted by the, if I can call them procedural issues of how we get the legislative base to do this, I should pay tribute here to the Minister, and I won't do it. When we come to this bill, I'll pass to the Minister and to her officials who actually moved at great pace and put a lot of effort into coming up with a solution that, unfortunately, the government did not.

That was not accepted by the House on Monday. But I would very much appreciate some understanding from the Minister when she winds up of how this issue is going to go forward, because it was a government amendment. We don't have the opportunity of asking the Commons to think again. It's dead in this House, but I would very much value an understanding. The need for this guidance has not gone away. As I understand it, the government's commitment to the guidance has not gone away.

So it would be very interesting to know

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how we take the next steps. My amendment six. In this group is entirely consequential on the amendment your Lordships agreed to, and I'm very grateful to the public Bill office grateful to the public Bill office for their advice in helping me to correct this, and I will move it

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formally when the moment comes. The amendments here are minor and technical following report, and the government will not oppose them the government will not oppose them today. Amendment four in my name is also minor and technical. This amendment was tabled to correct an error concerning amendment 178, which was moved by mistake at report on Monday the 23rd of March. That amendment relates, as the noble Baroness Hayman said, to the commencement of amendment 156 on investment duties guidance, which was disagreed by the House.

My Lords, that amendment now removes the commencement clause to honour the usual channels agreement on the package, as it was a missed, consequential amendment in response to the questions from the noble Lady Baroness Hayman, and I commend her for her work on this important issue. My Lords, although the House, the. The government introduced its amendments to this House to honour the commitment given by my hon. Friend the Minister for pensions in the other place, since the House has disagreed with those amendments, obviously that cannot proceed.

They were removed from the bill in this House. Therefore, the Other place will not get to consider them again. However, she's right that the need for the for guidance and clarity does not go away. The government remains committed to improving clarity around trustees existing investment duties, including how schemes consider long term and financial, financial and material factors such as climate and systemic risks, while maintaining their core duty to act in members best interests. We will press ahead with this important work. We're currently reviewing next step options to ensure this objective continues to be progressed in the most important way.

In the light of the decision of the House on this matter, the Technical Working Group, which was discussed at some length in the our proceedings, bringing together legal, actuarial and investment experts, will continue to play a central role in helping government develop high quality guidance in ensuring it's workable and proportionate and valuable to schemes, and further updates will be provided in due course. I hope that gives her enough. It's all I'm able to say at the moment, but in the meantime, amendment four is a necessary step and I hope the House will support it.



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I gather amendment one, two, three are consequential. So the question is that amendments one, question is that amendments one, two, 1 to 3 are agreed to. As many of that opinion say, content the of that opinion say, content the contrary, not content. The contents contrary, not content. The contents have it. Amendment five, amendment four. The question is that amendment four Baroness Sherlock amendment four Baroness Sherlock move formally, the question is that amendment four be agreed to. As many of that opinion say, content the contrary, not content.

The contents have it. Amendment five Baroness Neville-Rolfe the. The. The question is that amendment five be agreed to. As many of that opinion say, content the contrary, not content. The contents have it. Amendment six Viscount Thurso. The question is that amendment six is agreed to and many of that opinion say content the contrary, not content. The contents have it. Amendment seven Baroness Stedman-Scott. The question is that amendment seven be agreed to. As many of that opinion say, content the contrary, not content.

The contents have it. Amendment eight Baroness Bowles of Berkhamsted. The question is that amendment eight be agreed to. As many of that opinion say say content the contrary, not content. The contents have it. The question is that this bill do now pass.
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Baroness Sherlock Portrait Baroness Sherlock, The Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Labour)
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and it's very welcome. I have to admit that it's not quite as good as it could have been if it had as it could have been if it had adopted some of the amendments that I put forward. But we have to I put forward. But we have to accept that, and they are in the area of pre pre 97 pension increases. People have denied those increases. People have denied those increases and the use the release of surplus. I'm therefore pleased that in at at the Report stage my noble friend the Minister gave an assurance that the government will be monitoring closely how the powers of surplus release will be used and will keep that very much under review, and this has been reinforced in the House of Commons.

In an adjournment debate last Thursday, when the Minister for pensions made clear the extent to which they will be monitoring closely how this bill will be will be operated in the context of

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surplus release. My Lords, if only we dealt with

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My Lords, if only we dealt with all the amendments during the course of the Bill as quickly as today, we would have been not here today, we would have been not here quite so late. On many occasions. My Lords, first of all, I'd like to My Lords, first of all, I'd like to thank, if I may, my noble friend Baroness Bowles, whose expertise Baroness Bowles, whose expertise has been absolutely amazing, and to
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Lord Palmer of Childs Hill Portrait Lord Palmer of Childs Hill (Liberal Democrat)
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thank Lord Sharkey and the noble Viscount Thurso, and also to our hard working political advisor, hard working political advisor, Yuli Sabati. I would also like to thank profusely the conservative thank profusely the conservative front bench, who we've worked with very well on things in which we agreed. And when we disagreed, we agreed. And when we disagreed, we didn't come to a gunfight on it either. I like to thank publicly either. I like to thank publicly the noble Baroness Altmann, whose former pensions Minister, whose expertise has been valuable in the in the course of dealing with this bill.

And, of course, I would like to thank the Minister and Lord Katz and her team for their superb work on. On a very technical and a bill with very high stake issues, and I realise there's pressures from the other end as well as here, but we think we've worked well and I think we've come out with something that is pretty reasonable. And, my Lords, we recognise on these benches we recognise and welcome some of the measures in the Bill, such as the value for money framework and the Superfund legislation, but we have also raised large gaps in the regulation, including on pension scandals like the.

Pension scandal and injustices which no one wants seem to face up with, like the pre 97 indexation issues on these benches in the Liberal Democrats will continue to challenge the government on going further. My Lords, we have also worked hard to expose the flaws in the government's plans on Mandation. I think this is probably one of the most important issues, not only as a reserve power, dangerous in that it gives this and future governments huge powers, but the clause itself has flaws which my noble friend Baroness Bowles and others across the chamber have pointed out extensively over this debate.

I think we've had a really good run with this bill, and I again, thank the noble Lady, the Minister, for engaging with us and and hopefully coming up with something which maybe as time goes on, we can tweak in some ways, not necessarily in prime legislation. Thank you.
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Baroness Stedman-Scott Portrait Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative)
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My Lords. I want to begin by warmly acknowledging the collegiate and genuinely cross-party approach that has been characterised by the passage of this bill in your Lordships House. I know I also speak for my noble friend Viscount Younger of Leckie, in expressing our sincere thanks to colleagues across the House for their constructive engagement. It has been a pleasure to work alongside them, and our collective efforts have ensured that this important Bill has been subject to the careful and thorough scrutiny it deserves.

My Lords, this is a fundamentally important bill, and I'm pleased that we've agreed several amendments to address some of the concerns that we have together identified. I might quickly add at this stage that I and my noble friend Viscount Younger of Leckie, had one amendment on the Marshalled List for today, which was a technical amendment, necessary, necessary, necessitated to commence amendment 169 has been passed by your Lordships House at. Report this amendment. The government is has accepted today, my Lords, without rehearsing an exhaustive list, the government now have an obligation to return with clear answers to the concerns we have raised, including in particular the Local Government Pension scheme, or whether it's truly fit for purpose for its members.

Whether the proposed consolidation timetable is workable in practice for ordinary working people, and whether the scale requirements risk undermining innovative and high performing schemes, and the scope, rationale and implications of the mandation power on which there was a resounding view that this should be removed entirely. Many noble Lords have made valuable contributions to our deliberations on this policy through amendment speeches and constructive engagement, both inside and outside the chamber. It is not possible to thank everyone, but I would like to place on record my particular gratitude to noble Baroness Altmann Neville-rolfe notes and pen, and to the noble Lords, Lord Fuller and Lord Lucas.

I also extend my thanks to the noble Baroness Lady Bowles of Berkhamsted, the noble Lords, Lord Farmer and Lord Sharkey, and the noble Viscount Lord Thurso, from the Liberal Democrat benches, with whom it has been a genuine pleasure to work. I am also grateful to the noble Lord Vaux of Harrowden for his thoughtful engagement on the Bill. And finally, I thank the noble Baroness, the Minister, for her work in steering this bill through the House and the noble Lord Katz for his support.

The Minister has responded to a great many questions, often highly technical and searching ones, and has been given, has given considerable time in both committee and and on report to what is in many respects a dense and complex piece of legislation. I also extend my thanks to the to the to noble, noble Lords for their engagement, particularly during committee. It's been helpful and much appreciated. My Lords, I'll conclude by saying to the noble Baroness, the Minister, this bill contains a number of significant flaws and shortcomings.

Your Lordships' House has offered the government a clear opportunity to make necessary and timely improvements, and I very much hope that we will continue to work together with the noble Baroness May Minister and her colleagues in opportunity.
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