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Flood and Water Management Bill

I thank noble Lords for the support I have received from all quarters for my amendments. I also thank the Minister for his acceptance of what I am trying to achieve. I accept that these bodies are slightly different from existing committees because they involve coastal defence, but I do not think that that should necessarily confuse where the boundaries should be, because they should come inland around catchments. Obviously, each river can involve more than one catchment, as the noble Lord, Lord Dixon-Smith, said. With a really big river such as the Thames or the Severn, it could involve the upper Severn or upper Thames and the lower Severn or lower Thames, and so on. It need not necessarily be a full catchment either. I was encouraged by the Minister's comments that as far as possible the committee boundaries will be coterminous with catchment boundaries. I thank him for that. I was also encouraged on the question of the local authority majority, when he said that this was exactly in line with government thinking and the principle had already been established or accepted in the other place. As the noble Baroness, Lady Knight, mentioned it when speaking to her amendment, I should perhaps just say from the point of view of a planning applicant that, in my part of the world, every application that is put in has to be put before the Environment Agency. If it is any size at all and even if it is not on a flood plain—all waters end up on a flood plain at some point—you have to put in a flood relief scheme automatically and assess what is going on and the drainage. The Environment Agency goes into it in great detail. There is no question of any modern planning application going in without going through that process. I hope she will feel encouraged by that. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment 53 withdrawn. Amendment 54 not moved. Clause 22 agreed. Clause 23 : Consultation and consent Clause 23 : Consultation and consent Amendment 55 had been withdrawn from the Marshalled List. Clause 23 agreed. Clause 24 : Membership Clause 24 : Membership Amendment 56 not moved. Clause 24 agreed. Clauses 25 and 26 agreed. Amendment 56A Tabled by