---

Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill

My Lords, I have Amendments Nos. 31 and 32 in this group. We have listened to two powerful speeches that argued for different amendments to strengthen the oversight of subordinate legislation by Parliament. My wish in relation to this measure is that we should not use the negative procedure at all. The scrutiny period is only 40 days. The review that was published quoted the RRC report on the operation of the 2001 Act and concluded that, "““we have yet to see any hard evidence that a period of less than 60 days for the initial scrutiny period would be appropriate””." I shall not argue that we should have only the super-affirmative procedure but, in view of the nature of the orders being made under this Act and the fact that we are, as it were, delegating blind, because one does not know what is going to come, it seems to me that an affirmative procedure throughout would be appropriate. I recognise that the ordinary affirmative procedure gives only 40 days; nevertheless, it requires an affirmative vote in both Houses before the order can be made. On the other hand, the negative procedure—over the years one has recognised, as others have said, that this is a pretty feeble form of parliamentary scrutiny—requires that there should be a Prayer and that time should be found to debate the Prayer and so on. From experience, one knows just how difficult it is to persuade the business managers to find time for a Prayer that they do not like. For that reason, I argue that the procedure should only be affirmative. My amendments would take out the references to the negative procedure and would remove Clause 16, which sets out the conditions for the negative procedure. We have had three options, to which the Minister will no doubt wish to reply. The noble Lord, Lord Goodhart, said that if you are amending primary legislation, it should certainly always be affirmative. My noble friend Lord Norton of Louth made a very powerful case for strengthening parliamentary procedure and, in particular, for giving power over the decision on business. I would have no negative procedure at all. I suppose it is a case of divide and rule, but we do not like what is in the Bill.