Climate Change Bill [HL]

My Lords, the noble Duke. That is at least the second time that I have made that catastrophic error; I do apologise to the noble Duke, and I hope that he will forgive me on this occasion, especially as he will recognise that most of the provisions of the amendments apply to England, Wales and Northern Ireland and do not affect Scotland at all, so I am very grateful for his presence. It keeps me in order in addressing noble Lords properly and accurately in this House. I wanted to say to him that, because the clauses in the Bill and the amendments that we have tabled are, inevitably, about general powers, and we clearly have to consult about the detail, which we intend to lay out in secondary legislation, I cannot give him a precise answer to his question. I am able to say that it is exactly that kind of question—which category of corporate body would be subject to the requirements—that we need to consult on, before we decide the details that will be subsequently developed in secondary legislation. I hope he will appreciate that, at this stage, the Bill sets out to create the framework in which we will be able to operate constructively, particularly as a great deal of this work will depend on the willing co-operation of a large number of corporations, bodies, local authorities and the voluntary sector in this country.