My Lords, I rise to support my noble friend Lord Whitty on Amendment 18 and to use this opportunity to probe the Government's intentions regarding these two bodies-or, perhaps more accurately, these three bodies, since the Advisory Committee on Pesticides in Northern Ireland is included.

Like my noble friend, I am glad that the Minister who is to reply is from Defra. Given the large number of bodies being modified or abolished by this Bill that are part of Defra's area of responsibility, it is good that the Minister is responding to the debate on these bodies and, I hope, on the other agricultural bodies listed in the Bill. Given the many bodies that are listed in Schedule 1 that the Government are to have the power to abolish, it is absolutely right that each body should be looked at in turn. In many cases, the bodies in question have existed for a long time, so there certainly needs to be proper consultation about their future and how their work, especially when that is evaluated as having been very valuable, can be taken forward.

First, perhaps I may ask a few questions about the Advisory Committee on Hazardous Substances. The committee not only has a distinguished membership but holds regular meetings and has produced a large number of reports, which I understand have been accessed by many people. The committee has also been very open about its proceedings. I notice that, when Defra first announced the changes to arm's-length bodies on 22 July, the Secretary of State-the queen of the quango cutters-said that she intended that, as a result of the proposed changes, the subjects covered by such bodies would be dealt with more openly. Having looked at the website for the Advisory Committee on Hazardous Substances, I find it hard to imagine how much more open it could be. Its agendas, minutes and proceedings are made fully available. I understand that it has held a number of public meetings and that it expects-if it is allowed to do so-to hold such meetings in the future. Indeed, I understand that the next public meeting is scheduled for 7 December. Will that be an occasion when the future of the organisation could be aired publicly? Indeed, will the Government be involved in that meeting by giving their view on how a successor organisation might look?

I turn to the Advisory Committee on Pesticides. Given that the committee was set up in 1985 following legislation by the then Conservative Government, it is fair to ask a Conservative Minister why it is no longer felt necessary to have such a committee. As my noble friends have said, there is a great deal of public concern about pesticides, the use of which can give rise to many problems, particularly if they are not properly evaluated and subject to appropriate expertise at every stage. As my noble friend Lord Berkeley mentioned, we need to consider how bodies such as the Advisory Committee on Pesticides overlap with organisations such as the Food Standards Agency. The Advisory Committee on Pesticides is concerned not only with the use of pesticides on food and agricultural products but with the health of creatures and plants. The Government are required to consult the committee in certain circumstances. Could the Minister tell us how useful that process of consultation has been?

Both my noble friend Lord Whitty and my noble friend Lord Knight spoke of the importance of independent and impartial advice for Ministers. As a former Minister myself, I feel very strongly about that. In the weight of business that one faces within a ministerial department, it is very easy to get overwhelmed even from advice from within the department. Former Ministers are very conscious of how important it is to have independent advice and thoughts fed in from outside. Can the Minister say how significant the recommendations of these bodies have been in the past?

Finally, given that the Advisory Committee on Pesticides for Northern Ireland is also included, that allows me to ask how much contact there has been with devolved Administrations on the abolition of these bodies and their replacement with something different-by expert committees, as my noble friend Lord Knight referred to. How do the Government envisage taking these issues forward in Northern Ireland? What discussions has the Minister had with Northern Ireland Ministers about the proposal?

How will the expert committees that will replace those bodies function? I ask not only in terms of openness but whether there will be a general continuity in the work of the existing bodies and in the membership of the organisations. There are a number of such questions on which we seek assurance, so I look forward to the Minister's reply.