Baroness Noakes (Con)

My Lords, I thank all noble Lords who took part in this debate. A number of noble Lords expressed their views on what kinds of services should be made available, but we have the Lloyd review and we now await its outcome. That may or may not answer questions to all noble Lords’ satisfaction, but at least we will have a starting point. That brings me to one of the key issues that arise from our debate: sequencing. It is normal to identify a problem, then decide whether legislation is required to deal with it, and then legislate. That has been how we have done business through Parliament for time immemorial. Not just in this case but in other cases as well, the Government are starting to flip that on its head: “Let’s take some powers. Then let’s see if we’ve got a problem and then see if we can use the powers to solve the problem”. That is not responsible legislation. The Minister acknowledged the breadth of the powers but he has failed to articulate in a way that will satisfy the Committee the reasons or the rationale for having such a broad power. He referred to the DPRRC report, which gave a clear finding. The Minister will find that the House will generally take a lot of persuading not to follow such an explicit finding of the Delegated Powers Committee. This will not rest here; the Minister will be aware of that. This power is being taken at the wrong time, without sufficient evidence or definition. In consequence of it being taken at the wrong time and without any evidence, it is being drafted in a way that is deeply offensive constitutionally. The only thing I need to say in closing is that we will return to this on Report. I beg leave to withdraw.