Compensation Bill [HL]

I say to the noble Earl, Lord Erroll, that the problem is that Clause 1 does not attempt to do any of the things in which he so clearly and passionately believes. Paragraph 12 of the Explanatory Notes states:"““This provision reflects the existing law and approach of the courts as expressed in recent judgments of the higher courts””," which I think is entirely what the noble Lord, Lord Goodhart, and the Minister have said. I bring one case before the Committee, shortly, I hope. I have been wondering whether I should change the advice I give the director of the Bowes Museum in County Durham on whether he should have a children’s playground in the park. It is a large park with an existing footpath through it. Many children use the park. They fill the waterworks with stones, wash their dogs, ride mountain bikes and undertake all sorts of activities. We have often thought that it would be a good idea to have a properly constituted playground. North of the museum is a housing estate which is within the map of the most deprived areas of County Durham. Although I am sure that we could get a grant for construction, we do not have the management resources or the monetary resources to be confident that we could run a facility for the children that met health and safety needs and so on. Will Clause 1 alter the advice that I give the director of the museum, albeit that a playground constitutes a highly desirable activity for us to have in the grounds of the museum? I regret to say I do not see any prospect that I will change my advice because, so far as I can see, Clause 1 does nothing to alter the position. If that is the Government’s intention, then that is the Government’s intention. But if we are then to say, ““This will change the perceptions of the public about policy towards these matters””, we are probably deluding ourselves, in which event I think it would be better to drop Clause 1, because in a practical sense it does nothing. If something does nothing in a practical sense but does something only in a vaguely hopeful psychological sense, I do not think it is worth including.