---

Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Bill [HL]

I have a lot of sympathy for what the noble Lord has just said but a point occurs to me. Local authorities must have regard to guidance. There is an issue concerning the weight of guidance, which we shall come to. I do not know whether the noble Lord has it in mind that a request made by one authority will have force as regards all other authorities, but it seems me to that he makes a very good point here. Whether it is about guidance in the formal sense or the less formal sense in which we would probably use the term outside this building, I do not know, but, having identified the point, there may be some implications which have not been foreseen and which one might think through after today.