Commons Bill [HL]

My Lords, I endorse what has been said by my noble friend Lord Greaves from a different part of the country, and I very much welcome what the noble Lord, Lord Judd, has said about the far north-west, which is also true of the south-west. This is a great opportunity, and I also fully endorse the comments made about the ministerial team and the importance of this legislation. In various capacities I have been looking forward to this Bill for many, many years, and I am delighted to have been involved as a very lowly apprentice in this process. It has been an extraordinarily interesting apprenticeship. I appreciate that in this House it takes about 20 years to learn how to operate, but at least I have made a start on this Bill. I am very appreciative of the way in which the ministerial team and other noble Lords have welcomed a newcomer to this place and given me an opportunity to speak on behalf of some of the people of the south-west, who will undoubtedly benefit from the Bill. It has been a very interesting experience. I also endorse what has been said about the way in which this Bill goes to the other place. I hope that there will be more thought about this issue, which I suspect will be of interest to Members in that place as well.