Mrs Anne McIntosh (Shadow Minister, Environment and Transport; Vale of York, Conservative)

I am still suffering from shock that the Minister said that members of the Committee should not seek illumination from the regulatory impact assessment, which raises the question why the Government went to such expense and extravagance   to produce it. Conservative Members find the regulatory impact assessment extremely useful and I hope that the Minister will confirm that it is a reliable source—that it is not a guesstimate, but an accurate estimate.

I seek clarification of subsection (3), which states:

''A person guilty of an offence under subsection (2) is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.''

What is the proposed amount?

Mr Alun Michael (Minister of State (Rural Affairs), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Cardiff South & Penarth, Labour/Co-operative)

The level 3 fine is up to £1,000, as it has been throughout our discussions in Committee. If the hon. Lady seeks illumination, I advise that she first switch the light on, because she could illuminate her own thoughts. In preparing a regulatory impact assessment, some pieces of information come from an analysis of what has happened elsewhere, and others depend on our making the most intelligent guess possible on the information available. Any regulatory impact assessment should be read in that context.

Question put and agreed to.

Clause 76 ordered to stand part of the Bill.