My Lords, it is a pleasure to be introducing this final group and to have the support of my noble friends Lord Ridley and Lady Noakes. It is fair to say that we have been troubled by the sheer scale of this Bill and the new duties and responsibilities within it. It is clear that we are not going to be able to get all the provisions right and that the regulations made under the Bill are in many cases still being developed.
There is generous use of the affirmative procedure in the making of these regulations, for which the Government have been praised by my noble friend Lord Blencathra. However, the fact is that Parliament almost never secures changes to an affirmative resolution SI, so it is mainly a debating trigger. It is no substitute for knowing what will be in subordinate legislation and knowing it at the time that powers are granted in an enabling Bill. The power grab by bureaucrats is exactly what critics used to blame the European Union for when it brought in directives, but ironically it was more transparent about its plans and there was a well-understood process of both public consultation and scrutiny of detail in the European Parliament.
I should add that when I used to be responsible for Bills, parliamentary counsel wanted details of what the powers would be used for. They do not seem to be as firm as they used to be, which is a loss of democracy.
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I am also concerned that the cost benefit—especially the cost element—the funding of the many different parts and the level of enforcement are all uncertain in this Bill. Moreover, the Government’s plans have changed hugely since the impact assessments were prepared in 2019 so we cannot really rely on them for the usual elucidation, although I give due credit to the Minister for producing assessments so sadly lacking on the Agriculture Bill until after it was passed.
Our amendment is exploratory in nature, but against this awkward canvas it introduces a necessary fail-safe mechanism. It brings in an automatic system of review by requiring targets and regulations each to sunset five years after they are put on to the statute book. By that time, we will have a fair idea of what works or is beginning to work and what does not. The regulations can be renewed and most will indeed need to be, but that can happen only after a proper cost-benefit analysis has been carried out. That needs to look not only at
environmental impacts, which will be the department’s natural concern, but broader factors such as the effect on economic growth, costs to industry—especially small and medium-sized businesses such as the small farmers HRH the Prince of Wales was talking about this morning—and other stakeholders affected by this legislation. I would also like to understand their social impact, for example on employment in the countryside and elsewhere and on income disparity.
Across the House we have come at this piece of legislation from different directions, but many of us worry about the vague provisions and plans we are approving in this gargantuan Bill. Have you ever seen quite so many regulation-making powers gathered together in one place? There are, I acknowledge, some review provisions in some sections as I am sure my noble friend the Minister will explain. I thank the Bill team for the helpful note it sent me before the debate today.
However, I make the case—and make it strongly—for something more systematic and I would like the opportunity to work with the Government on an appropriate amendment. I have supported the Government by helping them to argue against criticism of many aspects of this Bill from the other Benches. I am also expert on sunsetting and the impact assessment system from the work I do on a whole series of Bills from a common-sense perspective, including Covid legislation. I very much hope for a positive reply.
I also look forward to hearing from the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, on Clause 136 on Crown application, a subject I have had detailed experience of in a number of Bills over many years. I am delighted to be in the same group as the noble Lord as we sit on a committee together. I beg to move.