Clause 7
Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Bill [Lords]
11:30 am
Mark Prisk (Shadow Minister, Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform; Hertford and Stortford, Conservative)
I am grateful to the Minister for his remarks on clause 6. They are also relevant to clause 7, so it is helpful to have them on the record.
Clause 7 gives the LBRO the power not merely to offer local authorities guidance, which the Minister referred to, but to direct them. As such, it creates a significant precedent: namely, that a public body that is not directly accountable to this House can direct any of our local authorities in relation to more than 140 enactments. If Committee members have not yet had the chance, it would be worth looking at schedule 3 on page 44, which shows the number of pieces of legislation that we are dealing with. The gamut of legislation ranges widely through employment, criminal justice, the environment, animal welfare, antisocial behaviour, licensing, local government, mining and office arrangements.