Baroness Scott of Needham Market (LD)

My Lords, I thank the Minister for engaging so comprehensively with the committee’s report and for some useful updates, and I am sure the committee would join me in that. We have had an excellent debate, and not just because noble Lords all said nice things about me —although I am not complaining about that. Every contribution has been thoughtful and insightful and has added something to the work of the committee, which, as I think noble Lords can all see, worked very hard over a long period of time to produce this. The noble Lord, Lord Monks, started by reminding us of the pandemic and the incredible pivot that the workforce in this country made—indeed, it happened in this House. It is worth reflecting that that was only six years ago. In the sweep of history and the way that labour markets change, that is a very short spell of time. What we were trying to do in this report was, in a way, to provide a comprehensive snapshot—but it is an entire album, is it not?—of where we are now. We think it will be useful to policymakers now and, on the point made by the noble Baroness, Lady Lane-Fox, in looking not just backwards but forwards. To make a cliché, you cannot look forward unless you know where you have come from, and I think we have done a good job in saying that. I thank everyone who has taken part and I commend the report to the House.