Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Bill [HL]

I was seeking clarity in this matter and I am afraid that I cannot say that I have achieved it, except that the issue seems a lot more complicated than the noble Lord, Lord Jones, suggested in the single sentence that referred to the matter in his letter to me. This will be difficult, because my understanding of what the Minister said was that a business, a franchisee, may find itself in a position whereby some of its activities with regard to health and safety, hygiene and so on, because of the nature of its agreement with the franchiser, will be regulated by the primary authority arrangements that apply, but other activities in health and safety and hygiene—which are not specifically dealt with in the franchise arrangement between the franchiser and the franchisee—will be subject only to the local authority. This will be confusing for the business, but will be even more confusing for the local authority, as the noble Viscount, Lord Colville, suggested, because it does not have immediate access to the franchise agreement that will decide the matter. This may lead to disputes about which local authority is in charge. The crunch will come when something has gone wrong, there is enforcement, action is taken, fines are imposed, court cases are pending, and that sort of thing. The question would then arise as to whether or not the action being taken was correct and which side of the line it fell—was it part of the primary arrangement or not, or had the local authority intervened on the right basis? There is still some confusion on this matter, but the Minister is trying to intervene after taking further advice, so maybe he can clear all of this up.