Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Bill [Lords] – in a Public Bill Committee at 12:15 pm on 17 June 2008.
Pat McFadden
Minister of State (Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform) (Employment Relations and Postal Affairs), Member, Labour Party National Executive Committee
It is often said when we establish new bodies that we should include some kind of mechanism to review how they operate, and that is what the Clause does.
The Government’s impact assessment process requires that all new policies be reviewed to establish their actual costs and benefits and the extent to which the aim behind them has been achieved. The clause commits us to carrying out such a review after three years. It places that commitment on a statutory footing and requires the Secretary of State to review LBRO’s discharge of its functions three years after part 1 of the Bill comes into force. The review should consider whether LBRO is discharging its functions effectively and the extent to which it has attained its policy objective.
Again, the Secretary of State must consult Welsh Ministers and such other persons as he considers appropriate when he conducts the review. The clause is prudent, and it is correct to include it when establishing a new body of this type.
Mark Prisk
Shadow Minister (Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform)
I am grateful to the Minister for those remarks. I think that he will acknowledge that the Clause represents a significant concession that the Government made in the other place, both in agreeing to our request for a review after three years and in ensuring that that review is laid before both this House and the National Assembly for Wales. I commend my noble Friends for their work in improving the Bill significantly.
Lorely Burt
Shadow Minister (Business, Innovation and Skills), Chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Party
I particularly welcome this Clause. The three-year review makes this quite close to being a Sunset clause, for which my party has been calling for a considerable time. We would like reviews to be built into a great deal more Government Bills and regulations.
A parliamentary bill is divided into sections called clauses.
Printed in the margin next to each clause is a brief explanatory `side-note' giving details of what the effect of the clause will be.
During the committee stage of a bill, MPs examine these clauses in detail and may introduce new clauses of their own or table amendments to the existing clauses.
When a bill becomes an Act of Parliament, clauses become known as sections.
A parliamentary bill is divided into sections called clauses.
Printed in the margin next to each clause is a brief explanatory `side-note' giving details of what the effect of the clause will be.
During the committee stage of a bill, MPs examine these clauses in detail and may introduce new clauses of their own or table amendments to the existing clauses.
When a bill becomes an Act of Parliament, clauses become known as sections.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
The House of Lords. When used in the House of Lords, this phrase refers to the House of Commons.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
A sunset clause is a provision of a law which causes the law to (in effect) repeal itself automatically. They are typically used as a form of concession when debating controversial proposals.
A proposal for new legislation that is debated by Parliament.
