Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)

My Lords, I will conclude fairly briefly. I thank all noble Lords for their contributions and the Minister for her reply. I thank in particular the noble Baroness, Lady Bowles, my noble friends Lady Noakes and Lady Coffey, and the noble Lord, Lord Palmer. I see, as the Minister pointed out, that the noble Lord, Lord Vaux, is in his place, which has, if I may put it this way, hitherto been dormant. As we have discussed, the amendments in this group are designed to test how the framework will operate in practice and whether the balance struck is the right one. In particular, they probe how dormancy is defined; how member behaviour is interpreted; and how far Parliament will continue to have oversight as the regime evolves. I have a few points to make in winding up. First, it would be helpful to hear from the Minister more details about how members can be reunited with their dormant pots—or, indeed, find their missing pots. I particularly look forward to hearing an update about the dashboard. May I make a request? It would be helpful to have more granular detail on how it would work and the different aspects of an individual’s experience in using the dashboard service. I remember that, when I was in the department, I was thoroughly briefed on it; it is a very big, important and interesting project. I am sure that the Committee would appreciate that particular type of update. My second point was made by my noble friend Lady Noakes when she said that Clause 22 gives significant powers. She was right in saying that there is no real underlying purpose and that there are concerns around the constraints. More granular detail on the definition of small pots is required; as my noble friend said, bearing in mind their value and growth in future, more clarity needs to be given. Finally, I want to make two points about the 12-month dormancy period that the Minister raised. We will consider what she said about 12 months being the right balance rather than extending, as we proposed. I will also read Hansard concerning her points about the affirmative procedure versus the negative one; I carefully noted what she said. To conclude, the powers in this chapter are substantial. The point we are making—and, indeed, the points that other noble Lords have made—is that clarity around definitions, proportionality in timeframes, transparency, and how exceptions and future changes will be handled will be essential if members are to feel secure, rather than sidelined by the process. With that summary, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment.