Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Bill [Lords]

That is central to my point. Only 2 per cent. of Knowsley’s council tax is collected in that way, and most debts are collected with no trouble at all because of the checks and balances. The unfortunate cases to which I referred were all from county courts. The opportunity is being lost to put a proper regulation system in the Bill. The Minister will be aware of the Bailiffs (Licensing) Bill, introduced by Lord Lucas, which would provide for a bailiffs’ licensing authority with powers to issue licences, lay down rules, receive complaints, conduct investigations, impose fines and revoke licences. However, I realise that the Government do not see the need for such a body, which I understand, given the existence of the Security Industry Authority. However, the terms of reference and powers of that body are deficient in that, importantly, it has no role in handling and resolving complaints, for example, and there must be recourse to the courts. Those interventions and sanctions are missing. I am aware that shortly before the Bill’s Report stage in the House of Lords the Government conceded—reference has been made to this—to the pressure for more robust regulation of bailiffs by publishing the consultation paper setting out options for such regulation. That is welcome, albeit late in the day, but does not go far enough. The consultation process will take anything up to six months. This Bill will be out of Committee by 27 March and will be well on the way to enactment before that consultation process is completed. Any strengthening of regulation that may arise from the consultation will have to be implemented in other ways, presumably through secondary legislation by amendment of the Private Security Industry Act 2001, as permitted in that Act. What is the problem with that? It is that the process of secondary legislation bypasses full scrutiny of the measures by the House. I think many hon. Members agree that those measures are important enough to be subject to that full scrutiny. My hon. and learned Friend the Minister will be aware of my early-day motion 220 on this subject. Eighty-three Members of the House seem to share my view that it is not good enough to proceed in the current fashion. The abuses are too rife and the victims frequently too vulnerable for there not to be a more stringent approach to the matter. I ask the Minister to reflect on the importance of establishing a regulatory framework in the Bill, which otherwise has so much to commend it. I would like to deal briefly with one other issue that has already been mentioned—the powers of forced entry and, in particular, the proposals to extend bailiffs’ powers when they enter domestic premises. The threat of forcible entry is a technique already frequently employed by bailiffs, but, when the Bill comes into force, in many cases that technique will no longer be needed because bailiffs will have the right of entry by law. I was interested to hear what the Minister said about this issue—that ““minimum conditions”” have to be laid down to enable an enforcement agent"““to secure a warrant for the use of force””," which is a quotation from the Joint Committee on Human Rights. I largely welcomed what the Minister had to say about the circumstances that a judge would have to consider before granting a warrant, and I was encouraged by her suggestion that the vulnerability of the client would be taken into account. That is certainly an important consideration in respect of the vast majority of clients of bailiffs in my constituency. I recognise that some people who try to avoid enforcement by bailiffs may be better off than the creditors trying to get the money back from them, but my constituents, by and large, fall into the vulnerable category. I believe that stronger safeguards should be included in the Bill to ensure that forcible entry is a last resort, that vulnerable debtors are protected and that reasonable offers of settlement are not rejected out of hand. As I said at the beginning, there is much in the Bill to be commended and I intend to support its Second Reading, but I hope that the Government will listen, take heed and be prepared to include in the Bill those provisions that I and many other hon. Members feel are missing from it.