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Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill

moved AmendmentNo. 33F: Page 2, line 39, after ““which”” insert ““minimises interference with the traditional products and traditional way of life of the British people and the different regions of the United Kingdom”” The noble Lord said: Amendment No. 33F seeks to prevent some of the absurdities and unforeseen consequences of regulation which occur through a lack of respect for the existing way of doing things. Sometimes, it would appear that the Government do not seem to realise that traditional institutions, practices and conventions are a significant element in the glue which holds society together. Tampering with those traditions is upsetting and disrupting, and chips away at the stability of society, frequently for no purpose. Examples are endless but I would draw the Committee’s attention to the new licensing laws, for example. I should declare a personal interest as the owner of a national monument which has had to apply for a licence. Although in my case the application was simple, for many these laws are causing endless worry and expense. Small local organisations, such as parish councils and branches of the Women’s Institute, which have for years held minor events either for fund raising or for the benefit and jollification of the local community, are now, in many cases, finding these events impossible because of the new expense and associated bureaucracy. I do not suppose that in the case of the Women’s Institute many tears will be shed in No. 10 Downing Street. The Standards Board, which was introduced to eliminate non-existent corruption in local government, has managed to create a situation where local councillors—I declare an interest as a parish and a district councillor—are no longer able to represent those who elected them. Too often traditional products, such as blue Stilton or church organ pipes—both recently defended by your Lordships—are thoughtlessly harmed by regulation and foolish draft regulations. Ministers should have a duty to protect our traditional industries. Where is the benefit of making it a criminal offence to supply goods in imperial measurements? How will it possibly benefit the nation for an elderly person, who is unfamiliar with the metric system, to be forbidden to see weights in pounds and ounces—measurements which they understand? I could go on, but Members of the Committee will have come across similar instances of this sort every day. I beg to move.