---

Ports: Draft National Policy Statement

I can certainly give the noble Earl an example and that is the switch in emphasis which, to my great delight, my noble friend has made in relation to the role of rail and coastal shipping. That is an area where a policy decision has been taken by the Secretary of State, and we shall hear further evidence of his commitment to the railway network in the next few days. I hope that that is an adequate response. There may well be other examples but that is certainly one to which I can draw the Committee’s attention this afternoon. As I was saying, we intend to continue to study the consultation responses and the report from the Transport Select Committee in the other place and we will reconsider the detailed drafting of the NPS in the light of those comments. I am generally reassured by our debate this afternoon that the Committee’s view is that we are broadly on the right lines. I thank all noble Lords who have spoken for their time and attention in studying—