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Compensation Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 19:"Page 4, line 2, at end insert—" ““(   )   Before making an order under subsection (1) in relation to a body or under subsection (2) in relation to a class of person, the Secretary of State shall have regard to the extent to which that body or class is already regulated, in respect of matters addressed by regulations under the Schedule.”” The noble Lord said: My Lords, this amendment goes back to a point that we raised in Grand Committee, where we suggested that exemptions should be granted by the Secretary of State only when the standards applied by the person to be exempted were at least as good as those the Secretary of State was creating under this Bill. I recognise that, now that the power to grant exemptions has quite properly been reserved to the Lord Chancellor and not to the regulator, such requirement on every individual exemption granted might be too onerous, both for the applicant and for the Secretary of State and his hard-working officials. However, the powers to grant exemptions apply not just to individuals but, more importantly, to specified bodies or classes of persons. It is clear that the Minister has in mind the fact that there are professional bodies whose members are already regulated to an adequate standard, and that there are service providers, such as those firms authorised by the Financial Services Authority, who are already regulated in such a way that those activities do not need to be regulated separately under this Bill. I fully agree that we must avoid double regulation, but I hope that the Minister will understand my concerns that there should be no gaps in the regulatory regime, so that those who are exempted en bloc, as members of professional bodies or specific classes of persons, are those who already offer perfectly adequate safeguards to consumers. I beg to move.