Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill

Debate between Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville and Lord Teverson

Monday 3rd December 2012 Grand Committee

[Lord Teverson]

I had not noted that. Perhaps I should change my whole speech because of it.

The whole area of bonds issuance is important. In fact, it was looked at in some depth by the Environmental Audit Committee in the other place, together with green ISAs. It is a method, which I know the Government and the Treasury are very keen on, to use money from pension schemes in particular to invest in the UK and in areas of quick growth. Although I am sure that my noble friend the Minister will go through the whole question of whether these would be government-guaranteed bonds and the effect that would have on the public accounts, I believe that this is an important area of fundraising. It is one that could, with the length of investment in these sorts of projects, appeal very much to the pension industry and pension funds, which have large amounts of money, as we know, to invest successfully. This would be a good way of moving forward and I am sure that the Government have considered it a great deal.

I would like to ask the Minister whether the Government have thought further about the area of green ISAs and about involving not just fund managers and corporates, as one would do with bonds, but ordinary people to support the purposes of this bank. I note that some 18 million people have ISAs at the moment. That is one in three adults. Some £220 billion is invested by individuals in ISAs, which clearly have all sorts of tax breaks that are attractive to individual savers. Both these financial instruments could really make a difference in terms of the Green Investment Bank and green ISAs. You could get a public and personal commitment to this cause and create extra employment and growth in the UK.

[Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville]

My Lords, I have a small technical question. The Official Opposition indicated, in the noble Baroness, Lady Worthington, a clear understanding that it was the Bank of England that was consulted on quantitative easing, but I have a question for my noble friend. If he were so minded as to grant this amendment, would we need a consequential amendment in the context of the reference to the consent of the Treasury in subsection (4)?