Member

At this stage, I thank my noble friend Lord Mott for his amendments in this group. While there are differences in emphasis and timescale, the amendments from my noble friend Lord Mott and from my noble friend Lord Howe and myself are intended to probe the Government on how they will ensure certainty about the licensing scheme so that retailers can understand what is required of them as soon as possible. We have seen in recent days how easy it is, even for the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to break the law when licensing rules are not clear. When small retailers inadvertently break the law, they will not be as lucky in having the backing of the Prime Minister. If we are asking retailers to comply with a complex system of rules, the details of many of which are currently unknown, we need to give them the time and notice they need to work successfully within them.