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Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Bill [HL]

My Lords, I support the insertion of this new clause. There are five requirements for better regulation, which include proportionality and targeting. Proportionality is obviously enormously important. Targeting is more worrying. The Minister will be aware that targeting over the past 10 years has in some areas got a bad name for the unintended consequences that it has produced. As my noble friends Lord De Mauley and Lord Cope said, pressures can sometimes be brought to bear. There can be political pressures to try to achieve one thing over another. This is a salutary reminder that, if the Bill goes through as drafted, immense powers will be given to probably tens of thousands of officials in local authorities and regulatory authorities up and down the country. The importance of even-handedness can hardly be overemphasised.