London Local Authorities Bill [Lords]

My hon. Friend is, as always, absolutely spot on, and I should advise anybody in the Chamber today or listening outside to appeal if they get a parking ticket, because it is often wrong and unfair and being issued just as a money-grabbing exercise. Westminster city council is now doing so by extending parking charges to midnight, and that is a pretty awful thing to be doing—[Interruption]—but not, Mr Deputy Speaker, as I see you panther-like waiting to pounce on an irrelevant comment, part of the amendments under discussion. So I turn to clause 20, the last measure related to the amendments under consideration, and agree again with my hon. Friend the Member for Christchurch that it is drawn far too widely. It has to be the people at the top who are responsible, but the clause refers to"““a manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate””," so I am a little worried that the cleaning lady is going to be nicked by some bod coming round in unrecognisable garb, whom we do not really know, saying, ““We'll have a few quid off you.”” The measure is going to be a swindler's charter if it goes through, because people will pretend that they are these authorised officers and sneak up on us and try to get money out of us for doing something that we should not, saying, ““Well, it does catch you because you are an 'other similar officer'. I am an 'authorised officer', you're an 'other similar officer' and, therefore, we'll take a fine off you.”” To conclude my relatively brief remarks, though it would be possible to go on and on about this Bill, so many are its flaws and faults, so good are the amendments proposed by my hon. Friend and so wise was he to bring them forward to try, as I said at the very beginning, to make a silk purse out a sow's ear, I am afraid to say, after all is said and done, that it is still—the meat of pigs.