Member

My Amendment 31 would require the Government, as part of the Bill, to say where the money is coming from. Of course, I do not believe that the Government will accept that amendment, and I perfectly understand that in the middle of a spending review it is probably not appropriate that this amendment should appear in the Bill. It is a probing amendment to ask the Government to give some sort of assurances about where the money will come from to make it happen. I agree with the noble Baroness, Lady Pinnock, that without that money, whether it is promised today or not, this Bill is an absolute dud. It is simply not going to be implemented. It would be completely bogus. So, I think the noble Baroness and I are on the same side—I know that pains her to some degree. The Liberal Democrats have so far spent more time quibbling with what I have been saying than challenging the Government. This may be a new and interesting way of approaching work in Committee, but we might get back to the norm, which is to hold the Government to account.