Member

In the face of these very stark warnings from heritage bodies and the questions raised in another place, the Minister there said that he would go away and seriously think about how the Government can provide further clarity and reassurance on this point. Sadly, no further clarity or reassurance was given before the Bill left another place and came to your Lordships’ House, so I hope that the Minister can set out today some of the fruits of the thinking that his colleagues and others have done since then. Until we have that clarity and reassurance, many heritage bodies, and very many people who cherish the buildings and infrastructure that we have inherited from our forebears, will continue to have significant concerns about the potential of Clause 41 to cause confusion and misunderstanding at best or, far worse, unintended harm to our shared heritage.