Review of LBRO

Question proposed, That the clause stand part of the Bill.

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.

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.

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.

Question put and agreed to.

Clause 17 ordered to stand part of the Bill.