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Northern Ireland Bill

I have very few words on this. First, the noble Lord, Lord Laird, has aired his amendment many times here, and if it was going to be helpful to include it in the paragraph that his amendment recommends, I would agree with it. Generally, we were very concerned at the breadth and the Henry VIII-type clauses that were included in the Bill. As noble Lords will know, the Constitution Committee under the noble Lord, Lord Holme of Cheltenham, raised this matter, and I was pleased to read the Government’s response this morning. It has been well raised and well recorded in Hansard,and on this occasion I will put my faith in the Government not usurping their powers in the next period of the Bill.