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Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Bill [HL]

My Lords, I beg to move that the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 9. This is a minor technical amendment, which simply makes the department, rather than the Comptroller and Auditor General, responsible for laying the new council’s accounts before Parliament. Paragraph 32 of Schedule 1 places a requirement on the Comptroller and Auditor General to examine, certify and report on each statement of accounts received from the new National Consumer Council. Prior to this amendment, the Comptroller and Auditor General would have been required to lay a copy of each statement and the report before Parliament. In discussions between the department and the National Audit Office it has been suggested that the requirement to lay copies of audited accounts and associated reports before Parliament should be the responsibility of the department rather than the Comptroller and Auditor General. Under the amendment, the Comptroller and Auditor General will still be required to examine, certify and report on each statement of accounts received from the new council before sending a copy of the certified accounts and of the report to the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State will then be responsible for laying copies of the report before Parliament. Precedent has been set for this revised arrangement by other newly created bodies; for example, for Natural England, in the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006, and for the Olympic Delivery Agency, in the London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Act 2006. The Secretary of State is responsible for laying the accounts of those two bodies. This amendment would bring the position of the new council into line with that of the other newly created bodies. I beg to move. Moved, That the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 9.—(Lord Evans of Temple Guiting.) On Question, Motion agreed to. 10: Schedule 5, page 61, line 16, leave out ““where standards are”” and insert ““in relation to standards”” 11: Page 61, line 32, leave out ““where standards are”” and insert ““in relation to standards”” 12: Page 62, line 11, leave out ““where standards are”” and insert ““in relation to standards””