Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Bill [HL]

Policies on sustainability, which the noble Baroness has raised, are clearly very important. We should bear in mind that the old NCC was not a statutory body, so it had no statutory obligations. The new NCC will be a statutory body, so it will have statutory obligations. The aim of the amendment is to strengthen the new council’s objective on sustainable development. However, the clause already clearly places a duty on the council, without placing too onerous a burden on the new body. Although I am not convinced that the current drafting needs to change to make the duty either less onerous or stronger, I am certainly willing to go away and look at it.