Clause 3Duties of a responsible person where a property is on the market
Homes Bill
2:30 pm
Mr Nick Raynsford (Minister of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions; Greenwich and Woolwich, Labour)
We agree entirely with the hon. Gentleman that the sanction must be proportionate. The trading standards officers will, of course, be working within the concordat that governs the way they operate. That is the right way to achieve the desired effect. We want to avoid unnecessary court proceedings and avoid unsuspecting home-owners being caught up in sanctions. The Bill confers the duty of enforcement on local trading standards officers, but those officers retain discretion as to what to do in performance of that duty. Local weights and measures authorities, like all prosecuting authorities, have considerable discretion as to how they operate. Their role involves providing help and advice. The commission of an offence does not automatically lead to a prosecution. Where the offence is sufficiently serious to warrant a fixed penalty notice, the service of such a notice does not bring about a criminal record.
The hon. Member for Bath (Mr. Foster) raised concerns regarding the cost of this activity for local authority trading standards. He will be pleased to know that, following the concerns he raised on Second Reading, we have taken further advice from the Local Authorities Co-ordinating Body on Food and Trading Standards—LACOTS. We are informed by LACOTS that it stands by its view that the activities involved are complementary to its existing duties in relation to the Property Misdescriptions Act 1991 and that, therefore, it envisages only a very notional additional expenditure—this is an average figure—of about £5,000 per authority. I can assure the hon. Gentleman that we have taken his comments seriously. If he chooses to check with LACOTS, I am sure it will give him the same advice.
Trading standard officers will have the discretion to vary their action with regard the circumstances of the case. For example, they will be able to provide help and advice where a person is genuinely unaware of the requirements. They will be able to give a warning, perhaps for a first or minor offence, and they will be able to offer a formal caution or serve a fixed penalty notice where the offence was deliberate and more serious, but even that will not attract a criminal record. In the most serious cases, where there has been deliberate and persistent flouting of the law, they could commence proceedings in the magistrates court.
I hope that, on reflection, hon. Members will recognise that the enforcement arrangements set out in the Bill are proportionate and do provide the appropriate way forward. I hope that the hon. Member for Eastbourne will withdraw his amendments.