Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Bill [HL]

My Lords, we sympathise with the spirit of the amendment, which certainly captures how the Government expect LBRO to behave in practice. However, as the noble Lord anticipated, the amendment brings us into territory which risks falling foul of the devolution settlements. Of course it will be crucial for LBRO to work with relevant parties in Scotland and Northern Ireland if we are to secure the greatest possible benefits for businesses operating across the United Kingdom. That has always been behind the noble Lord’s thoughts on the Bill and on other legislation. We are grateful to Welsh Ministers for their interest in the Bill and for their commitment to its full application in Wales. Ministers in Scotland and Northern Ireland have made it clear that they do not want the Bill and LBRO to apply to devolved matters. The noble Lord is welcome to take up the issue with them, but responsibility for devolved matters lies ultimately with the devolved Administrations and their electorates. As one would expect from the noble Lord, the amendment has been carefully phrased in terms of the requirement on LBRO. Nevertheless, I am afraid that the amendment would by implication place a requirement on the devolved Administrations to enter into a memorandum of understanding with LBRO. The requirement on LBRO to enter into the memorandum would be meaningless without that corollary. That is just not possible without the consent of the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Scottish Parliament. Of course, businesses will want to see as much joint working as possible between LBRO and the devolved Administrations. The guide accompanying the Bill makes it clear that we expect LBRO to work with the devolved Administrations in so far as it is authorised to do so. I am glad to say that LBRO, in its present company form, has already begun to establish productive relationships with Scotland and Northern Ireland, both at the governing level and with professional bodies such as the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and representative organisations. It is on track to form strong working relationships. Here, as elsewhere, we believe that LBRO can be trusted to get on with the job using common sense; certainly businesses will look to it to do so. I am afraid that we cannot accept the noble Lord’s amendment, because it could not be put into operation. I am grateful for what he said about the letter that I gave him today on Amendment No. 106. In order to make sure that this is as clear as possible to those interested in the Bill, the guide that will be published on the Bill will set out clearly what parts apply where. That information can, of course, be found in the Bill, as the noble Lord has acknowledged, but we will make sure, as best we can, that one part of the guide will set that out, so that anyone using the Bill will be able to find out whether it applies in various parts of the United Kingdom. I invite the noble Lord to withdraw his amendment.