Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 51: Page 6, line 33, at end insert ““and provide an account of how its resources were used in an efficient way”” The noble Lord said: Amendments Nos. 51 and 52 are intended to encourage the best use of resources by the NCC. Clause 10, detailing the NCC’s powers of investigation, is currently widely drawn, while the Bill is silent on the issue of prudent expenditure of resources. Non-departmental public bodies are not inexpensive. My amendment would ensure that while the NCC would have the leeway to explore issues that were of interest to it, it would have to have regard to the efficient use of resources. I hope that this would prevent the doubling up of work or research in the NCC, and in particular between regional committees. Amendment No. 52 is a probing amendment intended to elicit the definition of ““a novel issue””. I enjoy finding a light-hearted phrase in legislation, but I wonder whether the inclusion of ““a novel issue”” would exclude the definition of some issues that are not particularly novel. I am sure the Minister can clarify that point and clarify the legal meaning of that phrase. I beg to move.