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Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Bill [Lords]

The hon. Gentleman has made that point several times. If he will allow me to make a little progress, I shall deal with the question of who should choose which road we go down in this sort of situation. The Macrory report found that criminal prosecution should be reserved for those cases that really merit it. We believe that the choice between civil and criminal sanctions should remain at the discretion of the regulator. The Bill contains a number of important safeguards in that respect. Before a regulator can impose a fixed monetary penalty of the kind discussed by the hon. Member for Wellingborough (Mr. Bone), or a discretionary requirement, it will have to be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that a criminal offence has been committed. The regulator must then serve a notice of intent and allow the business to make representations and organise a defence. The hon. Member for Hertford and Stortford (Mr. Prisk) noted that, as was discussed at length in Committee, the proposed sanctions can be appealed to an impartial, independent and expert tribunal. That gives business an important safeguard against a regulator who applies a penalty incorrectly. The hon. Member for Solihull raised the issue of a business’s reputation. It is part of the core of her argument, and I understand that we do not want businesses to suffer reputational damage unnecessarily. I agree with the hon. Member for Hertford and Stortford that that is increasingly important in the business world, and for very good reason. However, I draw the attention of the hon. Member for Solihull to clause 65, which requires the regulators"““to publish the cases in which the civil sanction has been imposed””." Clause 65(3) specifically exempts from that requirement those cases that have been overturned on appeal. That means that, when a tribunal finds in a business’s favour, a mechanism will be in place to ensure that that business’s reputation does not suffer harm.