APPENDIX 7: REGULATORY ENFORCEMENT AND
SANCTIONS BILL [HL] — GOVERNMENT AMENDMENTS
Supplementary memorandum by the Department for
Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
1. On 8 November 2007, the Department for Business,
Enterprise and Regulatory Reform submitted a memorandum to the
House of Lords Select Committee on Delegated Powers and Regulatory
Reform in respect of the delegated powers in the Regulatory Enforcement
and Sanctions Bill. This memorandum supplements that memorandum,
providing details of and justification for a delegated power that
has been added to the Bill by way of amendment.
2. Details of the new delegated power are set
out below:
Power conferred on: HM Treasury
Power exercisable by: Regulations
Parliamentary Procedure: Negative resolution
of the House of Commons
3. The power will be included in a new clause
numbered 18 and permits H M Treasury to make tax provisions in
connection with transfers of property, rights and liabilities
made under section 17(2)(a) of the Bill. Orders dissolving LBRO
made under section 17(1) can provide for the transfer of property,
rights and liabilities of LBRO to another person. This provision
will ensure that such a transfer does not have unintended tax
consequences.
4. The provision includes a delegated power because
it is not possible now to determine what will be the applicable
tax provisions at the time that any relevant transfer of property,
rights and liabilities takes place.
5. Given that the power will be used to maintain
tax neutrality of any relevant transfer, and does not allow for
taxation to be varied in any other way, negative resolution of
the House of Commons is the most appropriate Parliamentary procedure.
In addition, this is in line with precedents, including for example,
section 5 of the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006 which
makes equivalent provision.
Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory
Reform
January 2008
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