Financial Conduct Authority

Lindsay Hoyle Excerpts

Monday 1st February 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

I call Guto Bebb to move the motion. You have 10 to 15 minutes.

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[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

Order. I now introduce an eight-minute time limit.

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[Anna Turley (Redcar) (Lab/Co-op)]

I share the hon. Gentleman’s concern about honing in only on the bad news, but that is cold comfort to the many constituents of ours facing these difficult problems. My constituent Mr Lilley and his family own a small glass and DIY business in the village Marske. They were mis-sold an interest rate hedging product by HSBC and are still owed thousands of pounds because of the difference in the premium. Is that not a perfect example of how the FCA is failing to investigate? This issue is of huge personal significance to our constituents—

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

Order.

[Mark Garnier]

The hon. Lady speaks well, and should take as long as she can to make her point.

[Mr Deputy Speaker]

Order. I will make that decision. I do not want us mentioning football either, as I watch Bolton Wanderers. I also ask the hon. Gentleman to talk to the Chair, not the Chamber.

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[Mr Streeter]

I suspect that that is the case—

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

Order. May I just remind everybody that the Chair certainly will not be favouring any Government, for or against?

[Mr Streeter]

We all knew that, Mr Deputy Speaker.

It is perfectly possible that the swaps were designed to be so complicated that they could not be understood. Primarily, they were designed in a way as to make the selling bank vast sums of commission, and it was all done in the name of commercial greed. Nobody minds a profit, but this went well beyond that. Although I am a loyal supporter of this Government, we have an FCA compensation scheme that is pitiful and, as a result, we are in danger of letting our constituents down. However, it is not too late for the Government to get a grip on the FCA and sort this matter out.

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[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

Order. We will have to drop to seven minutes to get everyone in on time.

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[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

Order. I am going to have to drop the time limit again because of the intervention. It will now be six minutes.

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[Mr Rees-Mogg]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that intervention, because I think there is a difficulty with time. Reference has been made to the HBOS report, which took a long time to come forward. Again, it started under the FSA, and the failures were of the FSA, not of the FCA. For a body that has been going for only three years, such a timespan is perhaps not that unreasonable, given that for two of those years it was making a specific investigation.

We have made huge progress, thanks to my hon. Friend the Member for Aberconwy, in achieving redress of grievance. That is enormously important, and it is right to do that. However, a vote of no confidence is the nuclear weapon of Parliament. It is something that brings Governments down. If we pass the motion, it ought to lead to fundamental change at the FCA and resignations, but I fear that we are trying to fire this gun before we have loaded it with gunpowder, and that therefore it will misfire. In that respect, I hope that my hon. Friend will withdraw the motion, because I think it has had its effect through the debate.

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

Order. I am sorry to say that we are now going down to five minutes, because of interventions. I call George Kerevan.

[George Kerevan (East Lothian) (SNP)]

indicated dissent.

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

In that case, we can still have six minutes. I call Michelle Thomson.

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[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

Order.