Commissioner for Older People (Wales) Bill [HL]

I understand the Minister’s position regarding non-devolved bodies, for many of the reasons that the noble Lord, Lord Rowlands, gave today and at our previous sitting. We understand that the Minister is bound by the Government of Wales Act 1998, but that should not preclude us from tabling amendments. He has given us one small crumb in the form of Amendment No. 36, for which we are extremely grateful. We understand the position that the Minister is in. I want to make another point concerning the police authorities, which follows a point made by the noble Lord, Lord Roberts of Conwy. A council tax statement sometimes has a figure as high as 12 per cent that all council tax payers contribute to fund the police authority. Certainly that is the case in our part of the world with the Dyfed-Powys Police Authority. It is associated with money that comes, to some extent in one part of the funding of local authorities, directly from the Assembly. There is an issue of principle there, but I shall not press it at the moment. I simply make that point.