Clause 12 - Draft order and explanatory document laid before Parliament
Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill
4:30 pm
Christopher Chope (Christchurch, Conservative)
I thought that the Minister gave his response to clause 11 on the basis that the argument is just about process. Our concerns, however, are about the substance, and there is nothing in clause 12 that can allay the concerns of those of us who feel that the Minister is giving himself power, in effect, to override substantial objections that are raised during consultation. There is no limit to the Minister’s ability to proceed, notwithstanding what most people would describe as an adverse consultation experience. Will the Minister elaborate on how he envisages that the consultation process will work, and where he thinks, looking at subsection (1), that it would be inappropriate for the Minister to proceed with the making of an order in the light of the consultation experience?
The way in which the clause is drafted at the moment, suggests that the consultation is just a process rather than an opportunity to see if there are substantive objections and, if there are objections, to respond accordingly. [Interruption.]