Charities Bill [HL]

My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister and the Government for having tabled this group of amendments to deal with the points that we discussed in Committee. Perhaps I may ask one question. I have not had a chance to check this, because I read this only just before we came in here. Under Amendment No. 50, new paragraph 1(2), headed, References by Commission, states:"““The Commission may make such a reference only with the consent of the Attorney General””." When the Minister introduced this, he said that he was following the amendment that I proposed on 28 June. I was not aware that I had cross-referenced in that way. Fortunately, I have a copy of Hansard to hand. The amendment read:"““In addition to the appeals and applications which may be made to the Tribunal pursuant to the provisions of Schedule 4 to this Act, the Attorney General or the Commission may of their own volition refer to the Tribunal such issues relating to the application of the charity law as they may consider should be reviewed and determined by the Tribunal””.—[Official Report, 28/06/05; col. 216.]" I am extremely grateful to the Government for having made those steps, but I am not quite sure why the commission should have to clear everything with the Attorney-General. That was not in my original amendment, which I have just read out. I was slightly disturbed, because the commission seems to be freestanding and we want it to be able to go to the tribunal, as we now call it, without having to get clearance. It may be that I have missed an extraordinarily specialist, detailed point of administrative law and that this is how it always works. Can the Government explain that, because I am slightly concerned by it?