Member

I come to Amendment 292 and my opposition to Clause 75. We are dealing here with a basic question: how is the ORR supposed to enforce compliance if one of its most important enforcement tools is taken away? Clause 75 specifically prevents the ORR imposing fines on GBR. There is the argument that you cannot impose a fine on GBR because GBR is part of the Government, so it is all circular money, and so forth. We used to say that in respect to the NHS. When I was young, the NHS had Crown exemption; you could not sue it for damages. Now we can—we have been able to sue the NHS for negligence since the 1980s, I think—and, because of that, a great deal of bad practice has been exposed, and a great deal of opportunity and stimulus has been created to improve practices and eliminate bad practices. Exposing things to the light of day in that fashion is a very good means of ensuring improvement, and I do not see why the ORR should not have the power to impose these fines. The principle that financial penalties can change behaviour is apparently accepted everywhere, except when GBR breaches its licence.