Professional Qualifications Bill [HL]

Debate between Lord Palmer of Childs Hill and Lord Alderdice

Committee stage
Wednesday 9th June 2021 Lords Chamber

[The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Lord Alderdice) (LD)]

I call the noble Lord, Lord Palmer of Childs Hill.

[Lord Palmer of Childs Hill (LD)]

My Lords, I am rising rather surprised. We have heard my noble friend Lord Fox elegantly put the reasons why the Bill needs to be slightly tidied up, if nothing else. The amendments in this group do all they can to allow overseas qualifications to be treated as acceptable in the UK. The amendment in my name seeks to deal with a situation where the qualifications and experience are held to fall short; the Bill does not talk about what happens then. In many spheres, what happens is that there is some bridging measure to bring the applicant up to the required standard.

Amendment 12 in my name seeks to give the regulator relief from bringing the applicant up to the required standard if this would involve unreasonable cost, time and be a resource burden on the regulator. My noble friend Lord Fox said that the regulator will be independent. We must not add the cost of providing bridging training if people do not come up to standard.

As has been said, this is a skeleton Bill. We need to make it clear on whom the duty falls to provide the additional training or experience to bring it up to standard. The Bill does not say, but it must not be down to the independent regulator.

[The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Lord Alderdice) (LD)]

I now invite the noble Baroness, Lady Noakes, to make her intervention.