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Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 3: 3: Clause 7, page 4, line 39, at end insert— ““(za) the local authorities in England or Wales to whom the direction is to be given;”” The noble Lord said: My Lords, I shall speak also to Amendments Nos. 4, 5 and 6, all of which are government amendments which address a number of issues raised by noble Lords on Report. We discussed the matter raised by Amendment No. 3 in our previous debate. The noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee, put forward an amendment on Report that would have required the LBRO to consult local authorities before the exercise of its power to give directions. We agreed that it was an important safeguard in the use of this power and took it away for consideration. We are pleased to say that Amendment No. 3 will give effect to it. The noble Lord, Lord Cope, who has played a very active role on the Bill, argued in Committee and on Report that the LBRO should have a role in advising government on the development of regulations and legislation. We share his belief that much of the LBRO’s value as an adviser to government will come from its ability to help to shape legislation and regulations before they are enacted. Amendments Nos. 4 and 5 will make it absolutely clear that the LBRO will be able to do so when it is advising UK and Welsh Ministers respectively. We thank the noble Lord for having raised that issue with us. Amendment No. 6 fulfils a commitment that we made on Report to provide for a statutory review of the LBRO three years after the Bill has effect. The amendment will require the Government to conduct a review into the extent to which the LBRO has met its objective and the extent to which it has functioned efficiently and effectively. The review must be published and laid before Parliament and the Welsh Assembly. I hope that there will be a general welcome for the amendment around the House. It will create a structure for an effective review of the way that the LBRO operates in practice, without the uncertainties that a sunset clause would have created for businesses and local authorities alike. These are the last amendments to Parts 1 and 2 of the Bill. The Government thank noble Lords on all sides of the House for the part that they have played in improving Parts 1 and 2 in Committee and on Report. We hope that this penultimate set of government amendments will put the Bill into the best possible shape as it moves to the other place. I beg to move.