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Housing and Regeneration Bill

My Lords, I did indeed express the concerns that the noble Earl has summarised. I think I said that I read objective 10 as being a how rather than a what, and I found it difficult to understand it in the context of the list of objectives. It was of a different type from the other objectives. The noble Lord, Lord Graham of Edmonton, referred earlier today to the ““brainy people””. The Government have said so many times that this would give the wrong indication. They seem to say at one point that the objectives are not a list and not in order of importance, but they also say that moving this objective around would affect the importance. I am still confused by that, but there comes a point where one has to accept that the brainy people who draft legislation, which is a bit different from ordinary-speak, must know what they are doing, and the amateurs cannot interfere with it. I hope the Minister has some notes that will explain all these questions. I have one question for the noble Earl about the last paragraph. He has taken me to task outside the Chamber for criticising his amendments, but I frame this as a straight question. Paragraph (c) refers to a duty; it does not matter where it comes, but if Section 22 of the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006 applies, why does that need saying? I was not quite sure why the noble Earl felt it necessary to spell this out because that Act will either apply or not and we do not need to repeat one piece of legislation in another. From the look on the noble Earl’s face, I am not making myself entirely clear. I suppose my question boils down to why it is necessary to spell this out. Is the 2006 Act, and the way it deals with matters, not sufficient?

About this proceeding contribution

Reference

703 c763 

Session

2007-08

Chamber / Committee

House of Lords chamber
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