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Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Bill [Lords]

My hon. Friend the Member for Hertford and Stortford (Mr. Prisk) has raised several points that the Minister may wish to dodge. I congratulate the hon. Member for Solihull (Lorely Burt) on the way in which she moved her amendments, which I certainly support. If the Government do not accept them and the hon. Lady presses them, I shall certainly vote for them. The impact assessment for the Bill mentions the costs of this measure. It says that the total cost to local government would be £13.6 million, and the total benefits would be £14.2 million, leaving a net annual benefit of £0.6 million. Those figures are based on the Government’s assumptions, and we know how they always hopelessly underestimate the costs and overestimate the benefits. However, the impact assessment also says that there will be a one-off cost of £2 million, so the Bill will cost local authorities £1.4 million in the first year, even if we believe the Government’s figures. I see no additional funding to help local authorities pay for that.