Clause 10 - Enforcement
Health Bill
5:30 pm
Andrew Murrison (Shadow Minister, Health; Westbury, Conservative)
I believe that I made my intentions clear this time, unlike on previous occasions when I may have been a little more subtle.
There is a great deal of sense in the amendment tabled by the hon. Member for Northavon. It is clear that Ministers have not adequately explored the implications of the Bill with various interested organisations, otherwise the Local Government Association, for example, would not have volunteered the fact that its members’ employees are not at all familiar with fixed penalty notices. It was quite explicit about that. We might already have ironed out some of these issues if the Minister had consulted the LGA, the CIEH and the Health and Safety Executive a little more fully. I mention the HSE because the guidance notes do not restrict the definition of enforcement officers to environmental health officers. I am a little confused about who might be considered enforcement officers, even at this stage.
A number of organisations are potential consultees, and I hope the Minister will approach them before she makes any regulations. The amendment’s purpose is to reinforce in her mind the need to consult such organisations before she takes the regulations further.
That is all I want to say at this juncture. I am aware that we may, if we are very lucky, have a clause stand part debate, during which I would like to explore the clause a little further. I support the hon. Member for Northavon, whose point is extremely well made. It is regrettable that the amendment is necessary. It seems, given the representations on the Bill that we have received from various organisations, that, arguably, we have got off on the wrong foot, as it has been suggested that Ministers have not consulted as well as they should. They would be well advised to do better in future. With that in mind, I am inclined to support the hon. Gentleman.