Clause 9 - Enforcement
Homes Bill
5:45 pm
Mr Tim Loughton (East Worthing and Shoreham, Conservative)
The Minister's final comment on the previous amendment reminded me of the old saying by a Member of this House that now is not the time for cliches, but I feel the hand of history on my shoulder.
Clause 9 deals with the enforcement of the penalties that the Government seek to impose on innocent house sellers, who are to join the ranks of people who pursue country sports as criminals. The amendments would decriminalise the faults specified by the clause and take the weights and measures trading standards officers out of the equation. Amendment No. 30 represents a fall-back position. If the Government insist on making such behaviour a criminal offence, with the full force of the trading standards officers to enforce their diktats, we want at least to ensure that those officers are suitably resourced to carry out their duties.
Conservative Members are surprised that the Government are relying on weights and measures officers to carry out their bidding—one would have thought that they already have their work cut out in pursuing sellers of bananas in imperial measures. The metric martyr, Steven Thorburn, will no doubt be the first of many honest tradespeople in this country whom the Government intend to fine and give a criminal record.