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Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Bill [HL]

The situation is not as the noble Baroness has described. It is not that I do not like transparency, accountability and proportionality; I was objecting to efficiency, economy and effectiveness being bundled together. As a non-lawyer, and having sat on the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee for some time, I feel that we have a problem when people promise to cut red tape, everyone saying that it should be cut. When it comes to it, others say that the cuts are too drastic and too quick. They want us to go on with the old-fashioned, tried-and-tested ways. They want us to return to the original practices. What I see from Part 3, not as a lawyer, but as a selfless citizen, is that here is a procedure that is quick but which has inner safeguards so that if mistakes are made there is some redress. I agree with my noble friend Lord Borrie that the criminal standard is the safeguard. That is a safeguard that an ordinary local authority official does not have the magistrate’s ability to judge. He cannot impose a fixed penalty unless he is sure beyond reasonable doubt that an offence has been committed. We ought to welcome that, because it is a very high hurdle to jump over. We ought to ask: is this going to be quick and efficient? Yes. Are there safeguards to guard against someone having been very arbitrary? Yes. There is a splendid, elaborate diagram on page 30 of the guide showing each stage where a person who feels badly done by can appeal. If there is injustice, it will take a long time to sort things out as it is at present, going all the way to the House of Lords. In a number of cases, it may be much easier and quicker to do it this way as provided for in these clauses. We ought to think of the efficiency of regulatory reform; does this reduce the regulatory burden or not? In my view, this is one good way of doing that.