Compensation Bill [HL]

I apologise. I am not sure whether ““public benefit”” would capture that; it might, but I am not sure. We put Amendments Nos. 3 and 13 together and the noble Lord quite rightly said that he has taken that specifically from legislation because it has a currency within the courts. We believe that choosing the term ““desirable activity”” because it is new, enables the courts to consider a range of different activities in a new way. It is a phrase that clearly has a meaning, but it does not try to narrow things down. Because the phrase ““public benefit”” is defined in a particular way in charity law, we were concerned that it would be interpreted in that way. I have already said that I have a difficulty with lists because of what one leaves out and what one puts in, thereby restraining the ability to examine an activity which is not covered in the list. I am not keen, in any legislation, on putting a list on the face of the Bill. I think that could prevent the law from developing or indeed, by accident, one might miss out something that might be appropriate. That is where the phrase came from. We think that ““desirable activity”” recognises a range of different circumstances that might take place. It is a comprehensible phrase that the courts will be able to examine and interpret. We are not tying the courts to a technical legal term which, in a sense, ““public benefit”” does. That is why we think it is a better phrase as it does not constrain the courts.