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Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Bill [HL]

My Lords, the Minister said that he hoped that I would appreciate that the Government have gone as far as they can to meet my concerns. I do not think that the Government have gone anywhere to meet my concerns. They have stayed absolutely still. They have put up the usual brick wall. They have the usual word at the top of the brief for the Minister on the amendment: ““Resist””. I remember it well; I lived with it for 10 years. The Government, not we, instructed the OFT. The fact that they got their instructions wrong and, as a result, got a lousy report that did not cover another important part of the industry is not our concern. It is time that the Government put that fault behind them and remedied it. Here is a good chance to do so. I do not accept what the Minister says: that it is impossible to do all the necessary work at this stage of the Bill. I used exactly the same arguments on Bills that I was trying to take through your Lordships’ House. When I was defeated, it was remarkablehow quickly those problems disappeared. The Bill might have been held up for a short period, butwithin the legislative Session the Bill was passed as amended. I agree with the noble Lord, Lord Razzall, whom I thank for his support, and the noble Lord, Lord Lee, that it is very difficult to get legislation. There is no way that the Government would introduce a Bill solely to regulate the letting agents. That would have to be part of a bigger Bill; the DTI would have to dress it up and include it as Part 8 of a wider Bill. The chances of that are very small, so I think that we ought to test the opinion of the House. On Question, Whether the said amendment (No. 6) shall be agreed to? Their Lordships divided: Contents, 85; Not-Contents, 145. Schedule 6 [Estate Agents' Redress Schemes]: