Public Bodies Bill [HL]

My Lords, I endorse the words of both noble Lords, Lord Lester of Herne Hill and Lord Pannick. I urge the Minister and the Committee to do the same. Amendments 14 and 107 seek to ensure that, in any move to abolish, merge or alter the various organisations listed in the various schedules, the Minister must have regard to the original powers or objectives laid down in law for those bodies. It would therefore not be enough to say simply, ““We can save money by these changes””, although I always agree with saving money. The amendments would make it necessary to consider more than just the need for specialist and technical expertise, much though I also support that; and more than simply independence from government, as has been spoken of, much as I also concur with that. Parliament needs to be satisfied that the raison d'être of each body—its objective, as set down in statute—will be protected and continued under whichever body takes over from the abolished, reformed or merged organisation. I would like to give four brief examples listed in the schedules where legislation has been passed, including through this House, to give powers or duties to those organisations. We need assurance that, in any change to their status, the very purpose and duties for which they were set up should be retained, even if carried out in a more resource-efficient way. I start with the Legal Services Board; I declare an interest as chair of the Legal Services Consumer Panel, which is funded by the Legal Services Board. The Legal Services Act 2007 requires the establishment of the board, and says that it, "““must … act in a way … compatible with the””," Act’s ““regulatory objectives””, which are about, "““protecting and promoting the public interest … supporting the constitutional principle of the rule of law … improving access to justice … promoting competition in the provision of services””," and, "““encouraging an independent, strong, diverse and effective legal profession””." The Act also demands that the board promotes adherence to the professional principles of lawyers, which are to, "““act with independence and integrity … act in the best interests of their clients””," and, "““comply with their duty to the court to act with independence in the interests of justice””." This goes further than judicial independence—important though that is; those objectives would need to be retained. My amendment would ensure that those objectives were still met if there were any alteration to the board’s set-up. They are absolutely central to the administration of justice. My second example is Consumer Focus and the National Consumer Council. Many years ago, I was on its board, although I am there no longer. Under the Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Act 2007, various things are required of Consumer Focus; for example, it must have a Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish arm, it must have regard to the interests of consumers in different areas, and to the interests of consumers who are disabled or chronically sick, pensioners on low incomes, or who live in rural areas. One of the core functions of the NCC under that Act is to set out powers of investigation, especially on behalf of vulnerable consumers. Again, the purpose of my amendments is to make sure that those duties, particularly those about vulnerable consumers, are retained with the same force of law as those under the 2007 Act. The third example is NEST, the National Employment Savings Trust, of which I used to be a member. This was created under the Pensions Act 2008. It is, indeed, a pension scheme established to be treated for all purposes as an irrevocable trust. The Secretary of State must require trustees to make arrangements for consulting members of the pension scheme and their employers, and establish a members’ panel and employers’ panel. Whenever the Secretary of State makes decisions by order, it must be with the consent of the trustees, and they must consult with the members’ panel and the employers’ panel. This trustee corporation, NEST, which is listed in Schedule 7, is a body corporate and is, under the 2008 Act, "““not to be regarded as the servant or agent of the Crown””." The Act specifically states: "““Property held by the corporation is not to be regarded as property of, or property held on behalf of, the Crown””." Indeed, the resources that it looks after belong, of course, to the members of the pension scheme. So the functions of NEST are to act as trustee of the pension scheme and to provide pensions to its members. My amendment would ensure that if there were any move under the powers of the Bill to change the NEST corporation, its duties would be retained, whatever the alteration to its status. Lastly, the powers of the Rail Passengers Council—or Passenger Focus, as it is probably better known—include the ability to investigate any matter relating to rail passenger services or stations, because either it considers that it is fit to do so or because passengers or users bring an issue to its attention. It has an ongoing role as a watchdog to review the provision of railway services in the interests of the public. Similar powers relate to road transport.