My Lords, Clause 20 makes a number of technical amendments to the provisions governing the administration of the senior managers regime, including those relating to the provision of updated statements of responsibilities.
On government Amendments 22 and 23, Clause 20(3)(f) imposes a restriction that prevents firms using an application to vary a condition or time limit as a device to appeal against enforcement action taken by the regulators. This is appropriate because the regulators can take enforcement action only after following the procedure laid down in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. That procedure naturally includes proper provision for appeals. It would not be right to allow a further quasi-appeal route by means of application to vary conditions or time limits when those had been imposed as part of enforcement action.
However, Clause 20 goes a bit further than we intended. Subsection (4)(d) would impose a similar restriction preventing the regulators from varying conditions or time limits imposed as a result of enforcement action on their own initiative. That would clearly be unnecessary and could prevent regulators from responding appropriately when circumstances have genuinely changed. Government Amendment 22 corrects this oversight.
Government Amendment 23 makes some consequential changes to Section 204A of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. That section ensures that each regulator has the power to take enforcement action when regulatory obligations owed, in effect, to it are breached. This amendment simply makes sure that the section will work correctly where the regulators wish to take enforcement action in relation to breach of a requirement to provide a revised statement of responsibilities.