Regulatory Reform (Financial Services and Markets Act 2000) Order 2007

I thank the Minister for introducing the order. As he said, it was considered by the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee in another place and by the same committee in your Lordships' House and, as he implied, it passed with flying colours. It might seem that there is therefore little to add, but I never like to pass up an opportunity to talk about deregulation with the Minister. The order contains a number of eliminations or reductions in regulatory burdens. As the Minister knows, my party believes in reducing regulatory burdens and we do not object to the order—indeed, we support it. However, it is worth pointing out that only two of the eight measures in the order actually reduce regulatory burdens on businesses; most of the rest relieve regulatory burdens on the FSA. I am not saying that that is a bad thing but it is not what my party yearns for when we talk about reducing regulatory burdens. Reducing the burden on bureaucrats is fine but it does not have a real impact on what we should be trying to do—reducing the impact of regulatory burdens on businesses. I have a couple of points of detail for the Minister. I was surprised that during the consultation there was no pushback against the proposal to amend Section 157, which would reduce the requirements on the FSA to consult on guidance. I have always seen consultation as a fundamental part of good regulation. It is part of the better-regulation guidelines. Having removed the requirement on the FSA, there is the possibility that some guidance will be issued without full consultation. Are the Government satisfied that the FSA has processes in place to ensure that it consults when appropriate, and do they have processes in place to keep an eye on what the FSA will be doing with its new freedom to avoid consultation? The other surprising aspect of the lack of pushback from the stakeholders, whom I freely admit were consulted, was the issue of guidance being delegated to committees. That is proposed in the amendment to paragraph 5 of Schedule 1. I am sure that much guidance is routine and therefore capable of being delegated. However, the Minister has already referred to the possibility of gold-plating, an issue we often discuss when considering regulatory burdens. People do not usually set out to gold-plate; it is something that enthusiasts tend to do. Having appointed what will doubtless be enthusiasts and anoraks to the committees and sub-committees that will approve the guidance, how will the Government, with the FSA, ensure that those well-meaning individuals do not end up creating new gold-plating after taking the opportunity of this regulatory reform order to reduce some from the past? Finally, how many pages of the legendary five-foot rule book are being eliminated by the order? I suspect that it will make no dent in the rule book. When does the Minister expect the FSA to deliver a significant reduction in its rule book? We know that the FSA has for some time been talking a good story on reducing the size of the rule book and moving to principles-based regulation but it is my understanding that the regulation rule book would, if printed out, still come to nearly my height.