Clause 46
Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Bill [Lords]
9:00 am
Lorely Burt (Shadow Minister, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform; Solihull, Liberal Democrat)
Welcome back to the Chair, Mr. Chope, to what may be the last day of our considerations.
On behalf of the National Consumer Council, I want the Minister to explore the nature of stop notices. The council is concerned that the test that the regulators must prove before issuing a stop notice is too high and that
“a significant risk of causing...serious harm”
is perhaps too high a barrier. I understand the grave importance to any business of having a stop notice issued against it. However, if an activity could be described as having a harmful consequence but not necessarily falling into a serious category, I am worried about how much leeway an individual inspector might have before issuing the stop notice.