Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill
Debate between Lord Berkeley and Lord Stoneham of Droxford
Lord Stoneham of Droxford (LD)
My Lords, I congratulate the Government on making significant moves with these amendments to deal with some of the problems that we identified in Committee. Obviously, one of our major concerns is that a lot is still to be decided by secondary legislation. We have to make sure that as far as possible we are precise at this stage about what that legislation is going to seek to do.
I accept all the points that the noble Lord, Lord Whitty, made about the point of sale issue. I would like to see stronger safeguards, but I also recognise the move that the Government have made, which I give them credit for, in ensuring that even though sale is not a full trigger point, the amendment will enable certain protections to still be in place, particularly that of the code.
I would also like to hear my noble friend spell out the timescale, because I share some of the concerns of the noble Lord, Lord Whitty, that we need some clarity on the timescale, although I suspect that 10 years is probably a little optimistic. I support the government amendments and ask for clarification on the point of sale issue.
Lord Berkeley (Lab)
My Lords, I support everything that my noble friend Lord Whitty said, but my main reason for rising is to challenge the noble Lord, Lord Hodgson. He said that there is a wave of money wishing to flood into the market—I hope I have got that right—but that the investors are not planning to do so at the moment.