My Lords, we are grateful to the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee for its report on the proposed powers in the Bill, and to my noble friend Lord Rooker for tabling and introducing this first batch of amendments reflecting that committee’s concerns.
Almost every Bill brought forward by this Government appears to be framework legislation, with only the bare minimum included in primary legislation and almost all the detail left for an ever-increasing body of regulations. It is neither efficient nor practical, and could give rise to a crochet blanket of loopholes in our legislative framework. This House’s Constitution Committee and Delegated Powers Committee have been fighting the good fight for many years, pushing back on this practice, but Ministers unfortunately do not seem willing to listen or act upon wise counsel.
We understand that the Government wish to legislate in this area, ensuring that the UK remains competitive as other countries explore the development of these new technologies or regulate for their rollout. The Minister knows that we support the passage of the Bill, but that does not mean that we think it acceptable to leave so many parts of it essentially unfinished.
On Monday, the Minister sought to reassure colleagues that nothing will happen before we are in the right position to do it. Yet here we are, considering skeleton legislation that will require an unknown number of SIs, over an unspecified timescale. The powers flagged by the noble Lord, Lord Rooker, would all be exercisable under the negative procedure, but if we are to ensure political consensus and public buy-in, should Parliament not have a formal role in approving the finer details of release and marketing notices? At the very least, is Defra able to publish additional information ahead of Report? This could be a more detailed policy statement, or indicative regulations reflecting the department’s current thinking. It would certainly give reassurance that the devil is indeed in the detail.