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Public Bodies (Abolition of the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) Order 2012

My Lords, I will not repeat what was said by my noble friend Lady Hayter, or by the noble Lord, Lord Razzall, so I shall be brief. As my noble friend said, we are discussing a casualty of the quango bonfire. Given the praise that the Minister heaped on NESTA, I wonder: if it ain't broke, why did we bother to fix it? However, that question was covered by my noble friend. I have a couple of points. The Minister spoke of staff being transferred. Am I right in assuming that they will be transferred under TUPE arrangements? I see a nod: that is good. I, too, am interested in the question of accountability and found the title of ““protector”” interesting. It has a Cromwellian overtone, so I hope that it will not go to his or her head. My noble friend Lady Hayter made a point about the fiduciary duties of the protector to ensure that the charitable trust performs its duties and to report to the Minister. I, too, would be interested in the general activities—apart from ensuring financial probity—of encouraging innovation and investment in the kind of areas to which my noble friend referred. If a report is made by the protector to the Minister, will we be able to question the Minister on it? I would also be interested to know how trustees will be appointed in future. I will not comment on the more technical points made by the noble Lord, Lord Razzall, and await with interest the Minister's response.