My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister and to other noble Lords who have spoken. We enjoyed an expert intervention from the noble Earl, Lord Lytton, who raised some very pertinent questions. I am also grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Cormack, for his support. He may speak later on his own amendments but I think he was making a point of principle rather than seeking to delay the distribution of this much-needed fund. The noble Baroness, Lady Pinnock, eloquently spelled out the plight of the language schools. My noble friend Lady Blake had an interesting insight into the challenges local authorities will have in administering the fund. I agree with her. I used the language schools as an example but there are many other sectors which face similar challenges.
The Minister certainly put up a very able defence of Clause 1. I have no argument with that at all. However, when it comes to the £1.5 billion, and the questions which have been asked, both here and outside, as to whether it is enough, who is eligible, how it is to be distributed and how long it is going to take to get the money out, we are still lacking detail and information. When he said that work was ongoing to prepare the guidance, which needs to reflect various factors, that did sound like an officialese way of saying, “We hope it will be as soon as possible after Royal Assent but I would not bet on it.”
This is a serious point. We are talking about very vulnerable businesses. It seems that the guidance will take some time, then local authorities will draw up a scheme and consult on it, because this will be a very sensitive issue locally, and they will need administrative processes, because clearly they have to make sure that public money is used effectively. When the noble Earl talks about 2023, I fear that may be the case. It is a matter of regret, and I hope that the Minister will reflect on this as the Bill goes through. Having said that, I am very grateful to all noble Lords who have taken part in this debate.