I beg to move amendment 83, in clause 20, page 9, line 35, leave out subsections (3) and (4) and insert—

“(3) The other provisions of this Act come into force on such day as the Secretary of State may appoint by regulations.

(4) Regulations under this section may appoint different days for different purposes or areas.”

This amendment gives the Secretary of State the power to commence the Bill by regulations.

With this it will be convenient to discuss the following:

Clause stand part.

New clause 4—Transitional provision—

“The Secretary of State may by regulations make transitional, transitory or saving provision in connection with the coming into force of any provision of this Act.”

This new clause gives a power to the Secretary of State to make transitional provision in relation to the implementation of the Bill.

Clause 20 sets out when the Bill’s provisions are to be brought into force and amendment 83 allows the requirements of the Bill to be brought into force as and when it is feasible to do so and by regulations, rather than within six months as originally drafted.

New clause 4 gives the Secretary of State the power to make transitional provisions for the implementation of the Bill, which, where appropriate, will allow flexibility in its application as it comes into force. I know that the Minister is committed to the Bill; we have strengthened it by working consensually cross-party and with the many interested parties outside the House.

I reassure the Committee that I want to ensure that the requirements of the Bill are commenced as soon as they are ready. We are certainly not in the business of delay, but we recognise that some aspects of the Bill will be quicker to implement than others. We will be able to commence some things very quickly, but if we take clauses 7 and 8, for example, getting the right systems in place for local recording and publication of statistics may take a little longer than some other aspects of the Bill. Commencing by regulations allows the Government to bring the new requirements into force as and when that is feasible, having regard to those parts of the system that move at a different pace.

The transitional provision will allow the Secretary of State to make transitional provisions in connection with the coming-into-force provisions of the Bill. That is important particularly where the Bill’s requirements represent a substantial change in practice. For example, if training under clause 5 is carried out before the responsible person is appointed, the transitional provision could state that the training is deemed to have been provided by the responsible person. That will also allow us to give the NHS and other providers some time to prepare for their duties under the Bill. The Government accept the amendment to clause 20 and the new transitional provision.

Amendment 83 agreed to.

Clause 20, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.

New Clause 3