Earl Howe (Con)

My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for her response to my amendment, which was largely reassuring and provided useful clarity. I think we all agree that, with the new licensing regime, enforcement must be effective and proportionate while also ensuring that businesses, especially smaller businesses, have time to prepare. I welcome the Minister’s assurances on this. However, if the will is there, I think useful progress could be made on the constructive ideas put forward by my noble friend Lord Lansley; I know that she has had discussions with him about these. Last week the Minister provided welcome assurances to my noble friend Lord Lindsay on specialist tobacconists. She acknowledged their unique character and indicated that it is not the Government’s intention to remove the existing exemption, which allows such premises to display tobacco products provided that those products are not visible from outside. In relation to my noble friend’s amendments in this group, I thought the logic of his case was compelling and I was therefore encouraged to hear the Minister say that the Government were sympathetic to the aims implicit in the amendments. I look forward to some good news on that front and hope that my hopes there are not misplaced. I thought the amendments from my noble friend Lord Udny-Lister contained some interesting ideas. They are all aimed at strengthening enforcement, improving verification processes and, more broadly, simplifying the operation of the licensing regime. As my noble friend said, there could also be benefits for consumer confidence. These are all good things so, whether or not my noble friend presses his amendments in due course, I hope that the Government will take some of his ideas away and give them further consideration. Meanwhile, I beg leave to withdraw Amendment 21A.