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Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Bill [Lords]

Perhaps I could encourage the hon. Gentleman to talk to the business community, which welcomed the move. He suggests some scepticism about the benefits of that measure—let him talk to the business community, which actively supports it. While the hon. Gentleman is talking to the business community about that measure, he might like to ask about the revelation from my hon. Friend the Member for Amber Valley that Conservative Members have not been diligent about turning up to discussions in the Regulatory Reform Committee. [Interruption.] I welcome the attendance of the hon. Member for Beverley and Holderness in this debate—I hope that he will take up the issue of poor attendance on that Committee with those on his Front Bench. The business community has made a series of supportive remarks about the Bill. The British Retail Consortium, for example, strongly supported the establishment of the LBRO, saying that it thought it vital that the LBRO should have full and effective powers right from the start. The consortium saw one of the office's key roles as bringing reluctant authorities up to standard. The national policy chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, Mr. John Walker, made it clear that ensuring a clear and consistently fair system throughout all local authorities is a ““must have”” for the small business sector. He went on to say that the anticipated reduction in cost to businesses means that this is a positive development and welcomed the creation of this new body. The Institute of Directors, too, welcomed the proposition that a wider range of penalties would mean less use of criminal sanctions, and less time and money being spent on court procedures. The Federation of Small Businesses said that it supported the use of alternative sanctions rather than the use of criminal prosecutions, which it thought—as we do—should be reserved for only the most egregious offenders and offences. Several hon. Members expressed concern about what the LBRO would do for smaller businesses. Its objective is to promote better regulation for all businesses, regardless of size. We believe that all of its functions under part 1 will help to lighten the burden of regulation on small businesses. For example, where small firms operate in more than one local authority area, they will have access to the primary authority scheme that is enshrined in part 2 of the Bill. For instance, a car dealership operating across several councils or small businesses that are based on internet sales could benefit from the scheme. I suspect that is why, during consultation, small businesses were concerned to ensure that the primary authority scheme did not divert resources away from their support towards bigger national firms.