Member

My time has come to an end—I said that this was a busy group—but, with the leave of the Committee, I would like to continue for a few more minutes. Amendment 74 would place a duty on the Secretary of State to lay within 12 months of Royal Assent the regulations establishing the value-for-money framework and it would require those regulations to set out clearly how schemes will be assessed, the standards that they must meet, how they will be held to account and what happens when they fall short. That matters for three reasons: first, certainty; secondly, coherence; and, thirdly, accountability. This amendment would ensure that the powers that Parliament is being asked to confer are exercised in a timely and comprehensive way. In short, this is an amendment about delivery. It reflects the reality that value for money is not achieved simply by legislating for powers but by ensuring that those powers are used, that standards are clear and that regulatory expectations are understood across the system. I look forward to the Minister’s response.