Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Bill [HL]

I realise we are not debating an amendment, so I am not making a reply. I simply wanted to make a point at this moment. I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord O’Neill, for his contribution. He said this was a pointless amendment, but without it we would not have seen the expertise he subsequently displayed to us. The Minister’s comments, that he and his officials are considering the points we made on day one of Committee, are helpful. For us, given the comments during the debate on this clause, the most effective way of ensuring that the new body has teeth remains to convert those contentious ““mays”” to ““must”” or ““shall””. That issue remains at the heart of some of our concerns about Energywatch and the other bodies that we shall debate shortly. Clause 13 agreed to. Clause 14 [Reference of matters to the Postal Services Commission]: On Question, Whether Clause 14 shall stand part of the Bill?