Charities Bill [HL]

My Lords, a self-denying ordinance at this stage is not a bad one, but I cannot resist reminding the House that Clause 2(2), which sets out the heads of charity, is not supposed to create any new law or extend the existing boundaries of charity, but merely to explain them and set them out in more understandable terms. In his response, the Minister may go some way towards rebutting the perfectly understandable concerns of the noble Lord who has just spoken. If he looks back on reading Hansard tomorrow, he may see that the description of non-religious bodies, which he would suggest might have charitable status, in fact, potentially goes hugely wide and might even include new Labour. I say no more and wait for the Minister’s wise words.