New Clause 2
Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Bill [Lords]
1:45 pm
Mark Prisk (Shadow Minister, Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform; Hertford and Stortford, Conservative)
I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.
Having concluded the clauses, we come to the new clauses. New clause 2 is very important because, as you will have seen, Mr. Chope, it is a sunset clause. As we have discussed, the scope of the Bill is quite significant—technical, yes, but significant none the less. It creates an entirely new local regulatory system and an entirely new non-departmental public body, albeit there is a company in shadow at present. It provides extensive powers of sanction and enforcement, involving not one single regulator but 27; and not one piece of legislation but over 140 different laws. The Bill permits the Secretary of State to make, by order, important changes to both the current and the proposed system of local regulation. That means, I hope, that in all local authority areas we, as Members of this House, will see the potential for improvement in the regulatory environment. However, those changes will affect all our constituents.
In the other place, my noble Friends were able to secure some important concessions, not least that of a three-year review under clause 17 that covers only the LBRO. Given that the LBRO is not, as we have debated, directly accountable to this House, it was right to seek that review. However, clause 17 and the review contained therein does not apply to the whole Bill and that is why it is important to insert the means to debate whether this legislation should persist after a five-year period.
New clause 2 offers a number of important advantages to us as a House. It enables us to assess the whole Act and look at how it has worked in practice. The Minister has understandably looked at the different parts of the Bill in detailed consideration during our deliberations today. However, we can all see that the sanctions regime, the operation of primary authorities and the LBRO’s new and interesting range of powers will not only work in themselves, but will work together. It is difficult to know what the end result will be—it is untried and untested and we cannot be certain about it. The LBRO is not a long-established, familiar organisation that we can judge on its performance, powers and role.
The new clause would allow us to look in particular at the range of sanctions and their impact, especially on small businesses. It would help to focus—this is an important benefit, which the Minister referred to earlier—all the regulators’ minds on their performance not only in the coming year but over the next five years. They would know that we reserve and have the power to scrutinise the legislation in full. The insertion of a sunset clause is not a cheap excuse for getting rid of a piece of legislation without due thought. It would enable the House to ensure that the law of the land is working. The legislation provides significant changes for our constituents.
Rightly, the Government have said that they want to get serious about regulation and reducing the regulatory burden, which I welcome. The new clause provides an opportunity for them to turn that promise into practice.