Charities Bill [HL]

My Lords, I am reluctant to respond to my noble friend because of the conventions of the House. It is not for the Government to interfere in the employment policies and practices of the commission—it is an independent body. Noble Lords have said on a number of occasions that they greatly value that independence. The noble Lord, Lord Hodgson, has argued that we should go further and the noble Lord, Lord Phillips, has agreed with him in the past. If the commission feels that it is right to review its staffing arrangements to meet the requirements of exercising more broadly the public benefit test, no doubt it will be for the commission to make that qualification and determination. I would like to respond to the point made by the noble Baroness, Lady Warwick. She asked if the commission would be consulting with the Higher Education Funding Council on the public benefit test for universities. The answer is an unequivocal yes, of course it will.