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Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Bill [Lords]

We will publish any cost estimates and other information on that in due course. I do not want to get drawn into too long a debate on this issue, but, as in other fields, we have tried to achieve a method of meeting our goal while retaining the flexibility on which the country's high employment record has been built. That will be our intention going forward. I was talking about prosecution. It is true that the courts will play an ongoing role with the most serious offenders. It has been suggested that, through the variable menu of enforcement actions, regulators will somehow be acting as judge and jury, with no checks on their powers, but I assure the House that that is not the case. The Bill contains a number of essential safeguards. It makes it clear that a Minister can confer powers on regulators only if the Minister is satisfied that they are capable of exercising those powers in compliance with better regulation principles. Before regulators can impose monetary penalties or discretionary requirements, they must be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that an offence has been committed. Businesses can make representations and objections before sanctions can be imposed, and, most importantly, there is a right of appeal to an independent and expert tribunal. Furthermore, regulators that misuse their powers could risk the suspension of such powers. We have worked hard to ensure that the regime of variable sanctions can work appropriately, and we believe that its operation could bring significant savings to business. The Engineering Employers Federation says, on this point:"““EEF supports the principle of alternative penalties for regulatory offences as a mechanism for reducing demands on court time, speeding up the process of enforcement and sanctioning, and reducing the costs associated with this for businesses.””"