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Housing and Regeneration Bill

I think that the Minister is aiming for a virtuous circle, rather than the vicious circle to which she referred—this has been a very long Committee stage. I am grateful for her reply. I agree with the noble Lord, Lord Dixon-Smith, about the drafting. He will not be surprised if I confess that I did not draft these three or four pages of amendments. My drafting has been much less expert and much shorter. I noticed that phrase this morning and thought, ““I know what it means but it could perhaps have been expressed differently””. In regard to a virtuous circle, with the domestic violence amendment I was talking about releasing refuge spaces. As the noble Lord was talking, I wrote down ““Release three and four-bedroomed housing”” before the Minister said it. I know that that is very much in her mind and that of her department. I am very grateful for her explanation, which was a much more positive take on the issue than I have heard for a very long time. Of course, the solutions will not come overnight. The definition is important. I understand the noble Baroness's point about trying to avoid cynicism, and the noble Earl made a similar point. The converse of that is setting a target with the aim of working towards it. It is certainly important that the work that is going on now—the piloting or pathfinder, or whatever one calls it—and the action plan do not delay countrywide change. Despite their length, these were probing amendments. They came from Shelter, which I know is involved in the debates and will keep an eagle eye on the work being done. It would be nice to end the Committee stage on a forward-looking note. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. [Amendments Nos. 116AB and 116AC not moved.] Clause 318 [Orders and regulations]: [Amendment No. 116B not moved.] [Amendment No. 116C had been withdrawn from the Marshalled List.]