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Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Bill [Lords]

The hon. Gentleman contradicts himself. He says that regulators will act as judge and jury despite the fact that there will be an appeal to an independent tribunal; the very fact that there is an appeal process shows that that is not the case. This is not the first time that civil sanctions have been used; indeed, I have looked up some precedents. The last time that the hon. Gentleman's party was in power, Companies House introduced a regime of civil sanctions for the late filing of accounts, and I am pleased to tell him that it increased compliance. There is a precedent, and it was introduced when his party was in power. On the costs and benefits of the measures, taken together, we estimate that the overall benefits for business could be up to £200 million through better enforcement, lower legal costs and the variety of enforcement actions.