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Compensation Bill [HL]

I can assure the Committee that the noble Baroness has considered all sorts of things in the course of this Bill and I am considering more by the minute. Whether we include that word or not, the courts can consider desirability, as they would consider a whole range of circumstances and factors. My thinking had been that ““desirable”” clarified the activities that we were thinking about. I have made it clear, all the way through our discussions, that I am not saying—the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, made fun of me using the word ““wedded”” so I shall think of another one—that this is the only phrase that may exist, but, with the benefit of our legal advice, we thought it was the best phrase that captured all the different circumstances. The noble Lord, Lord Lucas, in his inimitable fashion, leaps up at the end and comes up with an important point. If we take out ““desirable””, do we lose much, especially as noble Lords feel that the phrase ““desirable activity”” does not work for them? It would be enormously helpful to me if noble Lords would consider whether taking out ““desirable”” addresses some of the concerns raised, which I completely understand. While not doing what I am fearful of—using a legal, technical word—that might fail to capture particular activities that we would not wish to see excluded from the range of things that the courts cover. If Members of the Committee do that and let me know, I am perfectly willing to consider whether I effectively have a superfluous word because the courts can act anyway. I was trying to use a word that I hope in a sense captures what the noble Earl is particularly concerned about. The noble Lord, Lord Hunt, asked where we began. The groups that we were most concerned about were absolutely those to which the noble Earl referred. I am very open to doing that if it would be of any assistance to the Committee.