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Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Bill

My honourable friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is today laying before Parliament a draft Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Bill, and this is accompanied by a three-month public consultation. The draft Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Bill is essentially composed of two parts. The first part will establish the Local Better Regulation Office as a statutory corporation and give it powers to help promote consistency and better communication among local authorities and central government, helping them work together to keep the burdens of regulation on compliant businesses to a minimum. Part 2 of the Bill is enabling and will provide a framework for a range of new civil enforcement powers which will allow regulators to respond to non-compliance in ways that are transparent, flexible, and proportionate. In addition, I am launching a consultation on the regulators' compliance code (the code); this will be issued under Part 2 of the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006. The code sets out a framework for regulators that will encourage them to focus enforcement effort on businesses most likely to cause harm, while improving advice and reducing unnecessary burdens for others. This should help to reduce the overall administrative burden of regulation on business. The draft Bill and two consultations are presented as three documents. The first is Command Paper 7803, which contains the draft Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Bill and Explanatory Notes. The second is the accompanying consultation document, which also includes the impact assessment. The last is the consultation document for the regulators’ compliance code. All three documents will be placed in the Library of the House for the reference of noble Lords and copies will be made available in the Printed Paper Office. The consultations can be viewed on the Cabinet Office website at www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/regulation/consultation/current/index.asp. The consultation period will run until 15 August 2007, and will be carried out in accordance with the Cabinet Office code of practice on consultation.