Children and Adoption Bill [HL]

My Lords, I am extremely grateful to all noble Lords who have taken part in the debate and to the Minister for that helpful and broadly encouraging reply. I know that the process of government is different from business, but would any managing director come before his board and say, ““Gentlemen, we are proposing all these wonderful changes, but we do not know how we are going to pay for them””? That is not for real. I wish that the Government had a system—I do not suppose that governments ever have had or ever will have such a system—whereby they could approach the Treasury before coming forward with ideas of this kind, so that when they come to Parliament they know that they will be able to implement them. At the moment, whatever we pass or do not pass today or at Third Reading, we will not know whether it will be possible to implement it because we do not know whether the right honourable gentleman the Chancellor of the Exchequer will cough up the funds when the time comes. It is a highly unsatisfactory situation. However, we are doing our best. I am most grateful to the Ministers, the noble Baroness, Lady Ashton of Upholland, and the noble Lord, Lord Adonis. I know that they are deeply committed to this objective. I wish them good luck in their negotiations with the Treasury. We should support them in every way that we can. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.