Clause 1 - Power by order to make provision reforming law which imposes burdens
Regulatory Reform Bill [Lords]
11:15 am
Mr Graham Stringer (Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office; Manchester, Blackley, Labour)
If I may begin with a slightly flippant remark, the hon. Gentleman will not be surprised to hear that Government have no intention of introducing unnecessary burdens. Similarly, I would be surprised to discover that he considered that a complete and adequate answer to the points that he raised.
Before I turn to the central issue, I shall deal with the hon. Gentleman's comments about judgments that have to be made. He implied that the proportionate test is a subjective one, but it is not. The Bill does contain subjective tests, but the proportionate test is not one of them. It is a legally understood term, and courts are used to balancing one matter against another.
I should also point out that the issue was discussed at length in the other place. Lord Falconer asked whether anyone could produce an example of something that was unnecessary but proportionate, or vice versa, but no example was given. The necessary test is bound up in a definition of ``proportionate'' that explains the matter neatly: if it is not necessary to do something to secure the benefit, it is necessary not to do it in order to be proportionate. In case members of the Committee would like me to repeat that definition, I shall do so: if it is not necessary to do something to secure the benefit, it is necessary not to do it in order to be proportionate. In other words, something unnecessary is likely to be disproportionate, and if it is proportionate it will pass the necessary test.
I hope that that is a clear exposition of the way in which ``proportionate'' incorporates ``necessary'' in the test. The term is not subjective, and it is difficult to imagine an unnecessary burden that is also proportionate. In the light of those points, I hope that the hon. Gentleman will withdraw the amendment.