Conclusion 18

The regulator will be a key factor in determining the success of the Draft Bill’s measures. It will have extensive powers and oversee a regulatory framework estimated to cost billions of pounds. However, the Draft Bill is currently incomplete on the identity of the regulator, its governance, and its accountability. There are no provisions setting out who the regulator will be, whether it will be independent or not, how it operates and how it should be accountable. It appears to be the Government’s intention that the Draft Bill will be developed on this point once it has considered the outcome of the pre-legislative scrutiny process. However, that is misunderstanding the nature of such scrutiny; it is not for select committees to help initiate legislative provisions, particularly of such a fundamental nature, but rather to comment on draft provisions produced by Government.