Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill

My Lords, we now come to a part of the Bill which, at Second Reading, I said I regarded as in the...

My Lords, I address my amendment in this group, Amendment 24ZCA. I am not sure that we really kno...

My Lords, this is a useful amendment for my noble friend Lord Whitty to move at the outset becaus...

I thank noble Lords for their suggested amendments and I appreciate the sentiments expressed by t...

My Lords, I thank all noble Lords who have spoken, in particular the noble Lord, Lord Lucas, beca...

Moved by

Lord Whitty

24ZB: Clause 20, page 14, line 11, at end insert—

“( ) The...

My Lords, this amendment puts the consumer interest at the centre of everything that we are doing...

I would like to make clear at this point that I agree with every single word that the noble Lord ...

My Lords, as president of the Trading Standards Institute—excuse my cold—I agree very much with m...

My Lords, I very much agree with pretty well everything that has just been said by my noble frien...

My Lords, these amendments recognise the fundamental importance of consumer support and consumer ...

Either I mis-expressed myself or the noble Viscount has misunderstood. Section 6, which deals wit...

I note the point that the noble Lord has made and I will come back to that technical issue shortl...

My Lords, I thank the Minister and other noble Lords who have spoken. I thank, in particular, the...

I have found it pretty difficult to be sure that I understand exactly what the Bill is trying to ...

My Lords, I obviously listened to what my noble friend Lord Eccles said at Second Reading when he...

Perhaps I may just answer that question. I do not accept that, no.

Well, that seems to be the fundamental difference between my noble friend and other members of th...

My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend Lord Eccles for tabling this clause stand part debate....

My Lords, before I start on the detail of what has just been discussed, I welcome the noble Visco...

My Lords, I say at the outset that I am very grateful for the comments of the noble Lord, Lord St...

I want to ensure that the record is correct. The previous figure of £10.6 million has now been su...

I note what the noble Lord said, and I will return to him in writing. I commend this clause to th...

Perhaps I may reply to the Minister. I thank everyone who has taken part in the debate. Although ...

I am sorry to interrupt the noble Viscount’s flow. What is his answer to the argument that all th...

My Lords, I have looked quite carefully at what has been said, and it has been quite qualified. I...

Moved by

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town

24ZD: After Clause 20, insert the following ...

My Lords, for the purpose of this amendment, perhaps we can accept that we are going to have a CM...

My Lords, I think that the Committee should accept, as a matter of principle, the point that my n...

My Lords, before the Minister responds, I note that the noble Baroness, Lady Hayter, has tabled A...

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Hayter, for this amendment, which seeks to establish a...

I thank the Minister for that response and my noble friend Lord Borrie and the noble Lord, Lord S...

My Lords, if the noble Baroness has finished with her remarks on me, does that mean that she inte...

I am certainly not. I am suggesting that you need a person on the board with experience—I will co...

Before the noble Baroness withdraws her amendment perhaps I may ask her a question arising from t...

I thank the noble Baroness for those comments. The Regulated Industries Unit will be extraordinar...

Moved by

Viscount Eccles

24A: Schedule 4, page 87, line 22, leave out sub-paragraph (...

My Lords, this is another attempt to be reassured and comforted. There has been a lot of talk abo...

My Lords, the noble Lord has raised some really important issues. Certainly we would like to hear...

My Lords, these amendments affect the provisions that provide for a partial overlap of the CMA bo...

My Lords, I am afraid that I am not comforted by that description, least of all by the even flow ...

Moved by

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town

24AA: Schedule 4, page 87, line 22, at end i...

My Lords, the first amendment in the group seeks simply to have the appointment of the chair appr...

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Hayter, for her amendments, which propose changes to S...

I thank the Minister for that. The words “not necessary in the Bill” must be in the word processo...

Moved by

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town

24BA: Schedule 4, page 87, line 35, at end i...

My Lords, the good news for the Committee is that this is the last it will hear from me for a bit...

My Lords, Amendment 24BA adds a requirement to appoint at least one person with consumer represen...

I thank the Minister for that. How interesting it is that we can have sector specialists such as ...

Moved by

Lord Mitchell

24BC: Schedule 4, page 89, line 31, at end insert—

“11A ...

My Lords, despite the prompting of my noble friend Lady Hayter, this will not be a quake-making d...

My Lords, I am grateful for these amendments, initiated by the noble Lord, Lord Mitchell, which h...

I thank the Minister for his comprehensive reply. There is a need for a dedicated unit; small and...

Moved by

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town

24BD: Schedule 4, page 89, line 39, at end i...

My Lords, these amendments speak for themselves, so I hope that I can be brief. They are to remin...

I am grateful once again to the noble Baroness, Lady Hayter, for the suggested amendments. Amendm...

I thank the Minister for that. I assume from what he just said that the requirement on the OFT to...

Yes.

In case Hansard did not record that, the answer was a very welcome “yes”, for which I thank him.<...

Moved by

Lord Whitty

24BFA: Schedule 4, page 91, line 27, leave out paragraph (g)

My Lords, we now come to what may prove next week to be an interesting area: the relationship bet...

I thank the noble Lord, Lord Whitty, for tabling Amendments 24BFA and 24BG.

Amendment 24BFA...

My Lords, I am afraid I do not really accept either of those two propositions. On the financial s...

Moved by

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town

24BH: Schedule 4, page 91, line 27, at end i...

My Lords, despite the financial sector nominally being competitive—in that there is a choice of b...

I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Hayter, for these amendments.

To be effective, the CMA nee...

I thank the Minister for that. There is one bit of that which I can accept—that it may not be nec...

My Lords, this is a draconian clause. It follows a scheme of the Public Bodies Act in abolishing ...

My Lords, the Committee will be delighted to hear that because I have already made a number of po...

My Lords, I refer to my entry in the House of Lords register of interests. This gives me a good o...

I shall try to resist temptation. As to spectacles, of course it was the consumers who most wante...

Before the Minister replies, I would like to thank the noble Baroness for her comment. There may ...

To add to what my noble friend has said—we are fortunate to have him here today—I would like to k...

My Lords, the CMA will be equipped with a wide range of tools to remedy anti-competitive practice...

Before my noble friend sits down, could I ask that my questions that have not been answered are d...

I did not necessarily expect to answer all my noble friend’s questions. However, I have attempted...

For the last time, the fundamental question is: are the Government sure that the supposed benefit...

My Lords, this may be a convenient moment for the Committee to adjourn until Tuesday next week at...