My Lords, Clause 14 is pretty surprising. It runs entirely counter to normal practice and to the provisions of other Acts of Parliament and is careless of the need for proper scrutiny by Parliament. I entirely support the amendment of the noble Lord, Lord McKenzie. Your Lordships’ Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee commented on Clause 14 in some detail in its first report of the current Session.
As Clause 14 stands and as the DPRR Committee and the noble Lord, Lord McKenzie, have explained, the Minister does not have to be satisfied as to anything at all before abolishing it, consult anyone at all, have to conduct a formal review or have to wait a certain time to see if the new body is working well or at all. This is all at odds with the provisions of the Public Bodies Act 2011, as well as smacking of hubris and a cavalier disregard for parliamentary authority.
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None of the safeguards included in the Public Bodies Act 2011 is included in Clause 14. In fact, in their memorandum to the DPRRC on Clause 14, the Government make no mention of the Public Bodies Act or its safeguards. Why is that? Can the Minister explain what is so special about dissolving the SFGB that it does not merit the safeguards contained in the Public Bodies Act?
The DPRR committee concluded its consideration of Clause 14 by saying:
“We take the view that it is inappropriate for the Bill to confer on Ministers a power to abolish the single financial guidance body. It is all the more unsatisfactory because the power is unaccompanied by the sorts of procedural safeguards found in the Public Bodies Act 2011 and the Enterprise Act 2016”.
That is of course measured committee language. Another way of putting the same thing is to say that the Government are acting carelessly of the authority and the interests of Parliament.
Clause 14 is wholly unsatisfactory. I hope that when she replies, the Minister will reassure the Committee that the Government will bring forward amendments to the clause to build in the safeguards contained in the Public Bodies Act and in the Enterprise Act. The clause is unacceptable without those safeguards.