Clause 26
Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Bill [Lords]
12:45 pm
Mark Prisk (Shadow Minister, Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform; Hertford and Stortford, Conservative)
I beg to move amendment No. 16, in clause 26, page 13, line 3, at end insert—
‘(c) the regulated person gives 3 months notice that it wishes to terminate the nomination’.
The central purpose of this probing amendment is to enable businesses to terminate the primary authority nomination. As Members will be aware, clause 26 deals with the nomination of primary authorities, but, under subsection (5), it also deals with revocations, which are permitted by the LBRO either where the LBRO considers an authority to be “no longer suitable” or where
“it considers it appropriate to do so for any other reason”.
The latter provision is found in subsection (5)(b). Amendment No. 16 would give a business the ability to indicate its wish to end that nomination. After all, clearly primary authorities will secede only if there is a two-way relationship. It is important for a regulated business to know that, if it no longer wishes to proceed with that relationship, it has the ability to seek a termination, but the clause does not make that clear. It would be most helpful to the businesses concerned if the Minister assured us that subsection (5)(b) will give them that ability.