Part of Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Bill [Lords] – in a Public Bill Committee at 4:30 pm on 17 June 2008.
Mark Prisk
Shadow Minister (Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform)
4:30,
17 June 2008
This is an important Clause, not least because it goes to the heart of several of our debates.
Hertfordshire may have been considering the Bill as it was before we debated it today, but the council was clearly concerned about the due costs, which we debated before lunch. Clearly, it has been decided that those costs will now be met by business, rather than through an adjustment within local authorities, which I am sure will please the Chancellor. I can understand the reasoning behind that decision, and there is an argument that the person who benefits from a service should contribute towards it. However, that raises the point—to return to an earlier debate—that only multi-site businesses can benefit from the primary authorities scheme, which provides quite a beneficial service for them to tap into. There is therefore a regulatory distinction between the businesses that can nominate primary authorities and the single-site small businesses that cannot. It is important that we bear that in mind.
On the specific point about the power to charge, the clause says that fees must
“represent the costs reasonably incurred” by the authority, and that phraseology is perfectly acceptable. However, although the arrangements seem fair on the face of it, there are concerns, and I want to tease out a further response from the Minister.
The purpose of the Bill is to improve regulatory standards for businesses, principally by enabling them to nominate a primary authority as their sole local regulator. As the Minister said—almost in anticipation of my point—some businesses will say, “Hang on a moment. We’re already paying corporation tax and a range of other things.” They are paying their national non-domestic rates, or business rates as they are better known, so what are they paying for in addition? The CBI is not alone when it says:
“We do not see a compelling argument for why business should apply additional sums or why there should be a net increase in costs.”
The CBI’s essential point, which is not unreasonable, is that although it wants better regulation, why must business pay for what the Government should deliver anyway? That is a perfectly good point, and I would be interested to hear the Minister’s response.
My final point, which is just as important, is who will decide that a primary authority is making reasonable charges—to use the language of the clause? Will the LBRO be able to intervene or will it be the Secretary of State?
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 Chancellor - also known as "Chancellor of the Exchequer" is responsible as a Minister for the treasury, and for the country's economy. For Example, the Chancellor set taxes and tax rates. The Chancellor is the only MP allowed to drink Alcohol in the House of Commons; s/he is permitted an alcoholic drink while delivering the budget.
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 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.
