Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Department for Education

Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew George Excerpts
Thursday 8th July 2010

(13 years, 9 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Vince Cable Portrait Vince Cable
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As the hon. Gentleman knows, there was an announcement in the Budget on commercial rates, which was a big issue for those ports. We are anxious to help the development of green investment and, as he will know, we are studying a proposal for the green investment bank, which could well become a vehicle for good projects in that sector.

Andrew George Portrait Andrew George (St Ives) (LD)
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T5. I was listening carefully to the Minister’s earlier response to the question on penalty charges applied to personal bank account holders who occasionally stray into unauthorised overdraft. Bearing in mind the Supreme Court’s decision last year, which has resulted in a very unsatisfactory situation, does the Department intend to review the situation and, indeed, intervene to protect those personal account holders who find themselves in difficulty?

Vince Cable Portrait Vince Cable
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There certainly was a problem of serious overcharging, and it was pursued through the courts by the Office of Fair Trading. I am going to meet the director general of fair trading very soon, and I shall try to establish whether any action needs to be taken by the Department, as opposed to through the legal channels that have been pursued so far.