Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005

My Lords, I was a member of the committee in the previous Session, and I took part in the earlier discussions, although I was not able to attend during March for discussion of the most recent reports of the committee. The noble Baroness, Lady Scott, has said something important. One may question whether a 66-page document changing the law of the land should be passed by Parliament in this way. It seems to be quite clear from the very careful and complicated speech of the noble Baroness, Lady Andrews, that it is not possible to take in the whole order at a sitting like this. Had noble Lords all been present at the considerations in the committee, they would understand what the noble Baroness was saying, but I cannot believe that it is possible fully to understand all that is being said this evening. This regulatory reform regime has involved the House delegating to a Select Committee the job of scrutinising a very large piece of quite complicated legislation. The House of Commons has done likewise. The question arises whether a reform order like this is too large to be treated in this way. A subsidiary question is that as legislation on similar subjects was going through Parliament, was it necessary to do it in this way at all? I want to endorse the point made by the noble Baroness, as I believe the Government need to consider this matter when looking at all the regulatory arrangements that we have at the moment. On page 8 of the 14th report of the committee, paragraph 37 states: ““The committee notes that, at paragraph 69 of its second Statement the Department states: ‘The Department [the ODPM] wishes to assure the Committees that ODPM are working closely with Scottish Authorities to ensure that reform of general safety law can be achieved in full in Scotland and as close together in time as possible, subject to the processes of the two Parliaments’””. In Scotland, similar changes are being made, as the   Minister told the House. Can she tell us whether the Scottish Parliament’s arrangements coincide with the   arrangements being made at Westminster? Will the arrangements be in place in Scotland soon? This is all extremely important as it affects the safety of so many people across the United Kingdom. We need to know how things are progressing in Scotland.