I beg to move amendment No. 146, in clause 86, page 35, line 1, leave out 'The appropriate authority' and insert 'A board'.

I apologise for interrupting your flow, Mr. Forth, which was carried out with such expertise that I wonder whether your next career, should you choose one, could be spent reading out the football scores. However, James Alexander Gordon does a fine job, so perhaps not.

The clause confers powers on the appropriate authority to give directions to a board as to the exercise of its functions and provides for any such directions to be published. The powers also give the appropriate authority the power to vary those directions. It therefore follows that there should be a requirement for a body to comply with any direction given under the provisions. As drafted, subsection (4) requires the ''appropriate authority'' to comply with any such direction, but that reference should of course be to the board to which a direction is given. It is essential for Ministers to be able to give such directions, to ensure that boards contribute to our strategic objectives for the sector concerned.

Amendment agreed to.

Clause 86, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clauses 87 to 89 ordered to stand part of the Bill.