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Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill

moved Amendment No. 11: Page 1, line 11, at end insert- ““( ) a health and safety regulation disproportionate to identifiable risk;”” The noble Baroness said: I have tabled this amendment because I cannot find the word ““risk”” in the Bill. In the review published by Philip Hampton in March 2005, the concept of risk assessment as the basis for regulatory intervention was expounded at length. I cite Recommendation 1 of the review: "““The review recommends that all regulatory activity should be on the basis of a clear, comprehensive risk assessment””." It goes on to state that: "““The risk assessment should be balanced in including past performance and potential future risk””." No doubt we will discuss how the Hampton review has been incorporated into the regulatory principles set out in Part 2, but I wonder why the concepts of proportionality and risk do not apply to the meaning of ““burden”” in this clause. All we hear about the concept of proportionality in Clause 4 is that the effect of any provision in Clause 1 has to be ““proportionate to the policy objective””. But no mention is made of regulations having to be proportionate to risk or, indeed, that a Clause 1 order should focus on burdens that are disproportionate to risk, even though risk is set up by Philip Hampton as the measure against which regulatory activity should be compared. To measure a particular Clause 1 order against a policy objective is not the same as measuring a particular order against an objective standard of risk and the need to ensure that regulations are proportionate to the risk involved in not intervening. I accept that the Minister has powers to promote regulatory principles under the powers proposed in Clause 2(3), which states: "““Those principles are that—""(a) regulatory activities should be carried out in a way which is … proportionate””." Why is the concept of proportionality not expressly couched in the language of risk, which is such an important recommendation in the Hampton review? I beg to move.