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Flood and Water Management Bill

My Lords, we produced the list because those are the most likely areas of activity. However, as I have indicated, we already have legislation in place which also covers these activities. We have great experience in this area and this constructive Bill takes us a considerable stage forward. That is why it has been welcomed on all sides. The powers to which the noble Baroness referred are permissive powers for the authorities. I do not think that she would want them any other way. They are about local decision-taking and local discussions with local interests—that is the way in which the noble Lord, Lord Cameron, identified the necessity—and it would be the responsibility of the locally based authority to reach a decision. For obvious reasons, we would shy away from imposing this position upon the local authorities. The noble Baroness may feel more secure with the compulsory aspects—the noble Lord, Lord Cameron, would be quite fertile in giving illustrations of how these might work in a particular local authority—but they would have to be considered at a local level. That is why we have made it discretionary in those terms.