Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Bill [HL]

The noble Baroness’s Amendment No. 69, on consultation, seems moderate, because it requires consultation with the local authority only where the regulated person principally carries out or administers their activities. However, many other local authorities, in whose areas also the regulated person carries out their business, will be affected. They are not defined in this part of the Bill, but if I call them ““secondary authorities””, I think that Members of the Committee will know what I mean. There may be a large number of them. Their authority will to some extent be overruled. Not only will they not be consulted, but also it is not clear how they will hear about it until after the deal has been done. Many of their powers will be superseded and made more complicated. In some cases, we are talking about very large businesses. Some manufacturing companies in my part of the county have very large facilities there which employ thousands of people, but which are nevertheless not their principal manufacturing facilities—they have other facilities elsewhere. The local authority will suddenly find itself superseded, or being bossed about at any rate, in how it supervises many of the largest businesses in its area. It would be very difficult to require all of them to be consulted—that is why I have not put down an amendment to that effect—because supermarkets or clothes shops often have a very large number of branches all over the country. However, they are most affected by these clauses. That is why it is a very moderate amendment.