I want to focus on the hot topic of the day, the dispute about refuse charges. Nine months ago to the day, when we discussed the Environment Bill 2003, I made the point that waste charges for householders should always be related directly to the amount of waste they put out to be collected. At the time the Minister suggested it was enough to provide in the Bill for local authorities to have the power to do this, rather than requiring them to do so. In view of the widespread trouble in collecting these charges, more attention needs to be paid to this aspect of the matter.