Member

The noble Baroness, Lady Fox of Buckley, advanced a strong case for a review focusing more directly on the Bill’s economic effects and its effect on markets. At the heart of her case is a fact that I think we are all aware of, which is that the economy is, at its heart, about the allocation of scarce resources, which have alternative uses. When we regulate or prohibit products in a particular sector, we impose compliance costs, as she rightly pointed out, and that can affect investment decisions, supply chains, employment and innovation. That does not mean that regulation is wrong, but it does mean we should be honest about its wider consequences, so I did think that the noble Baroness’s proposal was one which merited considerable thought.