Member

If I may say so, as a bridge—looking to the Minister and other Members of the House—one potentially sensible way to move forward is that there are things that can be done in secondary legislation. Perhaps the Minister can respond to this. I understand that there has been some consultation with RFCAs which may put some of these fears to one side and address them. Rather than this binary approach, we should be trying to find how your Lordships’ House can come together in a pragmatic, sensible way to address the issues of governance. I for one feel—I am sorry that this is not a unified view in your Lordships’ House—that an NDPB is perhaps one way forward. Maybe not in a purist sense, but we would be able to accommodate the specific needs of the regional nature of the RFCAs within that NDPB, while using secondary legislation to reassure your Lordships that some of these issues can be addressed.