Lord Callanan (Con)

My Lords, this has been brief but fruitful debate and I am grateful to all who have contributed. I am particularly grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Purvis of Tweed, for his Amendment 50, which expresses our shared concerns about the unacceptable uncertainty over the costs of the commitments made under the treaty. If he presses it to a Division, I will support him. We share the noble Lord’s desire to see greater transparency and proper accountability for the Government’s spending under this treaty. As my noble friend Lady Noakes made clear, we are very concerned about the way the Government have handled the calculation of the costs of the treaty, and we think the British people deserve to know more about the process by which the Government reached the figures that they have published so far. My Amendment 47 would deliver greater transparency by requiring the publication of the methodologies used by the OBR, the Government Actuary’s Department and the Treasury when making their own calculations of the costs of the treaty, as well as requiring the publication of the justification of the methodology used. We surely cannot proceed with the Bill when there is such uncertainty and debate about the costs and scale of the commitment that the Government have entered into. I therefore give notice of my intention to divide the House on my Amendment 47 when it is called. In the meantime, I beg leave to withdraw Amendment 7.