My Lords, this amendment would place a duty on the Secretary of State under this provision to report to both Houses of Parliament six months after the commencement of the Bill. The aim of the report would be to notify Parliament what plans the Government had put in place to educate business users about the changes to the law this clause brings about.
I agree with what I believe is the principle behind this amendment: that when changes to the law are made which could impact on businesses or consumers, the Government should provide guidance to users. The Government have already engaged with all key stakeholders through their consultations on the changes now set out in the Bill. I am grateful for the words from the noble Lord, Lord Stevenson, who mentioned that he was aware of this.
This engagement continues as the Bill progresses through Parliament. In addition, the Government will be producing a plain English guide to the Bill, particularly aimed at small and medium-sized businesses, which will be issued before Report. The Intellectual Property Office continues to work through the representative bodies for the design sector to ensure that their members have the guidance they need on the new legislation, if it comes into force.
The noble Lord, Lord Howarth, asked how we can further penetrate the myriad businesses that may be affected. In the letters that we have pledged to write, we will add some information on publicity and distribution, which I hope will be helpful. He also asked further about this issue. I can reassure him that over the last year, almost 18,000 businesses benefited from face-to-face advice from the Intellectual Property Office, which also used online engagement extensively. I am proud to say, as the IP minister, that it now has 18,000 Twitter followers, more than any other intellectual property office in the world.
The noble Lord, Lord Stevenson, asked whether we could provide more information on what plans there were to educate as well as to inform business. These plans will build on the extensive work that the Intellectual Property Office already carries out through its business outreach programme and through schemes such as the training for business advisers across the UK. I hope these answers help to give some substantive responses to the questions raised by the noble Lord, Lord Stevenson, and the noble Lord, Lord Howarth.
The Intellectual Property Office, on behalf of government, already reports on the support and guidance that it provides to businesses through its annual corporate report and chief executive’s report. Therefore, the Government are not persuaded that a commitment to Parliament to report on this specific area of business support needs to be set out in the Bill. Accordingly, I ask the noble Lord to withdraw his amendment.