Housing and Regeneration Bill

Clause 219 is part of the group of clauses which relates to the use of enforcement notices. It requires the regulator to give the registered provider a pre-enforcement warning before issuing an enforcement notice. I propose to remove this clause and Clause 220, which deals with provider representations, on the grounds that the requirements are excessively bureaucratic. I am sure that the Committee will warm to that. The regulator should not have to issue a notice warning a provider that it is about to issue a notice. A number of minor consequential amendments remove references to Clauses 219 and 220 from other clauses. I do not propose to do this with any other enforcement power. It is absolutely necessary that the regulator is required to issue a warning notice and to allow 28 days for representations when it considers the use of a penalty notice or compensation award. Several stakeholders have expressed concern that that is too bureaucratic, but the enforcement notice is a different matter. It does not carry a penalty for its breach. Without a pre-enforcement warning and a period for representations, the enforcement notice will be a useful way of dealing with genuinely urgent cases. I do not wish the regulator to be forced to go through an unnecessarily lengthy process. The eight amendments in the group are consequential. They remove the requirement that the regulator, before issuing an enforcement notice, issues a warning notice. They allow 28 days for the provider to make representations. Clause 219 negatived. Clause 220 negatived. Clauses 221 to 225 agreed to. Clause 226 [Grounds for imposition]: [Amendment No. 110XC not moved.] Clause 226 agreed to. Clause 227 agreed to. Clause 228 [Amount]: