Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Con)

I thank the Minister for his response and welcome him to his new role on the Front Bench. In doing so, I also pay tribute to the work of the noble Lord, Lord Khan, and echo what my noble friend on the Front Bench has said about him. I too should declare an interest in owning a water butt—I did not realise that was essential at the beginning of these amendments—but, more seriously, I thank others who have spoken to this amendment, especially the noble Baronesses, Lady Parminter and Lady Bennett, who added their names to Amendment 115. I was delighted to see the cross-party support for the concept of these amendments. I absolutely note the concerns raised by the noble Lord, Lord Cromwell, and the noble Earl, Lord Lytton, but I am sure where there is a will there is a way. A couple of years ago, I was in Tunis for a conference and I went around the old souk. I went to this little house that was set up as a museum and I got talking to the owner. Among other things, I said, “What do you do for water here?” It was midsummer; it was really hot. He said, “Come with me”. He took me to the floor and pulled up a stone that could be lifted and, rather like we heard about in Bermuda, there underneath was a whole water supply that had been gathered during the rainy season. I note what the Minister says about not prescribing one size fits all and that we must be open to innovation. I suppose I would urge that, in all the interests we have talked about, we use what we know now and leave the door open to innovation in the future. We need to build homes that are equipped for the future. Developers will always have an eye to their financial pockets and will resist including future-proofing, as they say it will cause them expense, but some of them make huge profits and there is a little room to address these issues within that. This is a perfect opportunity to include measures in legislation, rather than to wait for some opportunity in the future. These measures are good for the environment and will help the people who buy these homes with their bills. So, I will ponder what the Minister has said and may revert to this topic, but I will withdraw the amendment at this time.