Police and Justice Bill

My Lords, I shall be brief. I support very much what the noble Lord, Lord Ramsbotham, and the noble Baroness, Lady Anelay, have said. Following the government amendments at Third Reading, it was obvious that some residual amendments were necessary. Unfortunately, when they were moved in the other place, they were lost. However, we are perfectly satisfied now that the Minister has explained how the system will work. It seems that the principals involved in the inspections are perfectly happy with the arrangement, too. Obviously, it will be a different matter if these mergers are to be considered on a future occasion. That will obviously require the scrutiny of this House and, as experience has shown, it may be a difficult exercise for the Minister to pursue. In the mean time, we would certainly raise no further objection. The system should be monitored adequately over a period of time to see how effectively it works.