Member

I turn to the Government’s amendments. I note that they are still tabling amendments to their own Bill at such a late stage. Amendments 211 and 212 seek to clarify that the Secretary of State has a free-standing duty to make regulations under Clauses 65 and 66. Although the intent may be clarification, in practice this grants yet more regulatory power to the Secretary of State. This continued layering of ministerial discretion without sufficient parliamentary oversight raises genuine concerns. It speaks to a broader problem with the Bill: the reliance on secondary legislation at the expense of clear and accountable primary law. If the Government are confident in the substance of these measures, they should be willing to put more detail in the Bill.