Clause 9 - Variation of authorisation
Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill
10:00 am
Mr Gary Streeter (South West Devon, Conservative)
The Minister will, of course, be aware that famous court cases in this country have gone as far as the House of Lords on the interpretation of ''the'', ''a'' or ''an'' in a statute. Picking up on my right hon. Friend's point, I note that clause 9(1) uses the words, ''The regulator may'', subsection (3) says ''The regulator must'', and subsection (2) uses the words ''the regulator is to''. Can the Minister not understand that in years to come, lawyers may engage in protracted and expensive cases, trying to work out whether a difference was intended in the use of those words? For the purpose of clarity, it would be worth having the word ''must'' in subsection (2), as is in subsection (3).