Financial Services Bill
Mark Hoban Excerpts(12 years, 7 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Mr Mark Hoban)
I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Dawn Primarolo)
With this it will be convenient to discuss the following:
New clause 5—Amendments to Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007
‘(1) Section 124 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 (charges by operator of approved scheme) is amended as follows.
(2) In subsection (1) for “costs’ substitute “charges”.
(3) In subsection (2)—
(a) for “costs”, in the first instance, substitute “charges”,
(b) after “scheme”, insert “along with any charges made by the operator”, and
(c) after “those costs” insert “and charges”.’.
New clause 9—Debt management plan regulation
‘The FCA shall bring forward recommendations within a year of the commencement of this Act to phase out the practice of directly charging consumers fees or charges for the provision of debt management plans.’.
New clause 10—Mortgage rate forewarning
‘The Treasury shall bring forward recommendations within six months of Royal Assent of this Act requiring mortgage lenders to forewarn existing customers about potential interest rate changes and their impact on the affordability of mortgage repayments.’.
New clause 12—Prepayment schemes
‘(1) The FPC must carry out and publish a review of the operation of consumer prepayment schemes to consider whether existing protection for consumers is sufficient.
(2) The FPC must make recommendations under subsection (1) within one year of this section coming into force;
(3) Any report produced by the FPC under subsection (1) shall include an analysis of whether consumers of prepayment schemes should be made preferential creditors for the purposes of the distribution of the realised assets of the company operating such schemes in the event of insolvency.’.
Government amendments 2 and 3.
Amendment 37, page 37, line 42, in clause 5, at end insert ‘and targeted, proactive and easily accessible advice to those encountering economic disadvantage, financial exclusion or financial exploitation.’.
Amendment 55, page 38, line 6, at end add—
‘(h) supporting the provision of legal advice on all areas of law related to personal debt, including but not limited to—
(i) issues covered under Schedule 1 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012,
(ii) remedies under the Insolvency Act 1986 and Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007,
(iii) protections under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and Consumer Credit Act 2006,
(iv) consumer redress schemes under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000,
(v) debt limitation under the Limitation Act 1980, and
(vi) enforcement action for specified debts pursuant to a county court judgement, a High Court writ or warrant issued by a Magistrates’ Court.
(4A) For the purposes of subparagraphs (h)(i) to (vi) above the consumer financial education body may enter into arrangements with the Ministry of Justice to direct appropriate levels of funding for these purposes.’.
Government amendment 4.
Amendment 40, page 80, line 2, in clause 22, at end insert—
‘(2A) The FCA may make rules or apply a sanction to authorised persons who offer credit on terms that the FCA judge to cause consumer detriment. This may include rules that determine a maximum total cost for consumers of a product and determine the maximum duration of a supply of a product or service to an individual consumer.’.
Government amendments 11 and 18 to 21.
Mr Hoban
New clause 4, which is the most significant of the Government new clauses and amendments in the group, provides a framework for implementation of the Government’s proposal to retain the important rights and protections of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 to ensure that consumers do not lose out as a result of the transfer. For example, we are likely to retain section 75 of the Act, which provides for the joint liability of creditors for misrepresentation or breaches by suppliers.
The Government’s preferred approach to the implementation of the transfer of responsibility for consumer credit from the Office of Fair Trading to the Financial Conduct Authority is to ensure that the Consumer Credit Act protections are replicated in the FCA’s consumer credit rule book, and that the relevant sections of the Act are repealed. That approach is in line with the intention to move to a more responsive, rules-based regime than the current statutory framework.
However, there are limitations to the type of rules that the FCA can make, which means that it will not be able to replicate in its rules all the CCA protections that we want to retain, including protections that impose rights directly on consumers and those that affect unauthorised third parties. That means that some CCA protections will need to be kept in the CCA itself, and that certain provisions of the CCA will therefore need to remain in force following the transfer. As a result, a number of changes will need to be made to both the CCA and the FSMA as part of the transition, to reflect the fact that the FCA will be responsible for regulating consumer credit and to ensure that the FCA, as well as local trading standards, can effectively enforce the retained CCA provisions. For example, it will be necessary to replace references in the Consumer Credit Act to the Office of Fair Trading with references to the FCA. We will also need to apply certain features of the FSMA, such as references to the FCA’s objectives, statutory immunity and fee-raising powers, to the FCA’s new functions under the Consumer Credit Act, and enable the FCA to use FSMA supervision and enforcement powers that would normally be used in relation to breaches of FCA rules for breaches of CCA requirements. New clause 4 enables the Treasury to make those changes and other necessary amendments to the CCA and the FSMA by order.
I should also draw attention to the addendum to the delegated powers memorandum, which the Department has prepared and provided to the delegated powers Committee. The memorandum sets out in more detail how this power is intended to operate and why it is necessary. Copies are available in both the Printed Paper Office and the Vote Office. The order to be made under this provision will be subject to further consultation following Royal Assent to the Bill. Government amendment 11 provides that any order under new clause 4 will be subject to the affirmative procedure and so can be made only with prior approval of both this House and the other place.
Government amendment 2 supports effective collaboration between the FCA and local trading standards following the transfer, enabling the FCA to contract trading standards for the provision of services in the same way that the OFT does now—for example, to undertake local inspections and follow up on enforcement action, including by local illegal money-lending teams. Government amendment 21, and related amendments 18, 19 and 20, insert into the Bill provision for the transfer of the OFT property, rights and liabilities, including staff, to the FCA.
I hope Members will agree that the Government amendments in relation to consumer credit are sensible and practical provisions to support an effective transfer of regulation to the FCA. The new clause and related amendments sit within a process of regulatory reform that seeks to tackle some of the issues raised by Members on both sides of the House about the functioning of the credit market. We believe the FCA will have much stronger powers and greater resources than the OFT has had in order to tackle detrimental practices in the consumer credit market. Unlike the OFT, the FCA will be able to make binding rules on firms to ban specific products or product features that cause harm, to issue unlimited fines, and to require firms to pay redress when things go wrong. It will also be able to apply greater scrutiny to applications for credit licences and make it more difficult for rogue firms to enter the market.
As a consequence of the transfer we have introduced into the Bill, there will be a fundamental change in the regulation of firms such as payday lenders and debt management companies. I am pleased that the provisions enabling that transfer were welcomed in Committee.
There are a number of Opposition amendments relating to consumer credit and debt management plans, and I want to say a few words about them now. On new clauses 5 and 9, I made it clear in Committee that I sympathise with concerns about some of the practices in the fee-charging debt management sector. That is why clause 6 enables the regulation of debt management companies to be transferred to the FCA. That is also why we have chosen to leave on the statute book the enabling powers of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007.
More immediately, we are working with the industry to develop a protocol of best practice for debt management plans, which should cover, among other things, the nature and timing of fees. Indeed, on 14 June the Minister with responsibility for consumer affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for North Norfolk (Norman Lamb), will chair the first industry-wide meeting to discuss and take forward the protocol. That will follow several months of meetings with a smaller, representative group of stakeholders, which has talked through processes, commercial terms and advice, to reach an agreed position.
I also wish to refer the House to new guidance for the debt management sector recently published by the Office of Fair Trading, which sets out in substantial detail the standards expected of firms. I believe that it is appropriate that we give time and focus to current efforts to improve standards in the debt management sector, and take account of the significant changes to the wider regulatory regime enabled by the Bill, before we start talking about changes to a potential statutory scheme under new clause 5.
As I said in Committee, I do not think that we should throw the baby out with the bath water and shut down the market for fee-charging debt management services, as proposed by new clause 9, before fully exploring better regulation. Where suppliers of credit are aware of people who are suffering financial distress in repaying their debt, I encourage them to signpost their customers to fee-free debt advice services so that they can get the best possible advice to meet their needs.
On amendment 40 and new clause 10, I wish to reassure hon. Members that the Bill already enables the FCA to make the kind of rules proposed in those two provisions. Indeed, in relation to new clause 10, the Financial Services Authority already places a number of requirements on firms to ensure that borrowers are informed if their mortgage repayments are subject to change. I know that some hon. Members may wish to challenge the approach, saying, “But if the FCA can already make the proposed rules, what is the harm in accepting these proposals?” The point is that there are significant risks to specifying in great detail in the Bill the precise type of rules that the FCA may make. First, in doing so, we risk distracting the regulator from using its expertise and judgment to identify and address the risks that it considers pose the greatest risks to its objectives. As parliamentarians, we should be creating a framework within which technical experts can exercise their discretion, in a suitably constrained way. We should leave them to get on with the job, not provide a long laundry list of everything that we want them to do.
By specifying in detail what rules should or should not cover, we also risk creating the opportunity for challenge to the regulator’s ability to make rules that are not specified in the Bill. The lack of specific provision in the Bill does not, in any way, reflect on how seriously the Government take these issues. For example, in relation to high-cost credit, a number of initiatives are under way to improve standards in the sector. Those include work to improve industry codes on payday lending; research commissioned by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills into the impact of a cap on total cost of credit; and a review by the OFT of payday lenders’ compliance with its irresponsible lending guidance. As well as raising standards now, the findings of those pieces of work will feed into the FCA’s approach to regulating the sector following the transfer, including on the type of rules it may make regarding these charges.
Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)
I appreciate the comments that have been made about the Bill and, specifically, about amendment 40. Does my hon. Friend agree that there is a risk of amendment 40 moving into price regulation, which is very different from product intervention? Price regulation would be a very dangerous line to follow.
Mr Hoban
I ask the hon. Lady just to hold her horses for a moment. This is about the third time we have discussed this matter and she may want to engage in the debate later, but we need to understand the function of the market. The previous Government—[Interruption.] The hon. Member for Nottingham East (Chris Leslie) says that we are still making the wrong decisions, but our predecessors in government examined this issue of the cost of credit and concluded that price caps worked against the interests of consumers. This Government have, following the parliamentary debates on the matter, commissioned research to examine the impact of a cap on the total cost of credit. We should look at the research, understand what remedies are being proposed and follow that through. One of the advantages of moving the cost of the regulation of consumer credit away from the OFT to the FCA is that the FCA has a greater range of tools and can make a wider range of interventions than the more narrowly focused solutions of the OFT.
Nick de Bois (Enfield North) (Con)
Does the Minister understand that the sense of concern is heightened by the fact that although the research is welcome, as yet there is no sense of urgency or indication of when it might become available? I would be grateful if he could suggest when we might see the fruits of that research.
Mr Hoban
I do not have that information on me, but I will endeavour to have it by the time I wind up the debate. It is important that there is evidence, that we do not respond on a knee-jerk basis and that we ensure that we protect vulnerable consumers. That includes ensuring that the right protection is in place for those who wish to borrow money to meet their needs and we should also ensure that we do not push them into the arms of illegal money lenders. One change we are making in this group of amendments includes ensuring that the work of the illegal money lending teams out in the regions can continue when we shift the regulation of consumer credit to the FCA.
I am aware of these issues and it is important to the constituents of my hon. Friend the Member for Enfield North (Nick de Bois) and to mine that we get the right answer. A lot of work has gone on in the past to consider the cost of credit, and we need to proceed on the basis of evidence rather than closing our minds to what solutions there might be. Let us have some evidence to inform the debates so that we can give our constituents the right answer, rather than something that happens to be convenient to some political whim or desire. I believe that we should have evidence-based policy making and that that is the right approach. All the stakeholders would also agree that we need to support this work with some evidence, rather than proceeding without a firm evidential base.
New clause 12 concerns the important issue of how consumers who take part in prepayment schemes are protected and how they are treated if the provider of such a scheme becomes insolvent. I suspect that many members of the House will have dealt with this matter over recent years, given how many people were affected by the collapse of Farepak just before Christmas 2006. The Government have great sympathy for those who have lost money in such schemes and are aware of the frustration they feel. One problem with the Farepak insolvency has been the fact that it has taken so long for the customers to get their money back. Work with the liquidators is continuing.
The challenge is whether the Bill is the appropriate place for regulating such a function. Prepayment schemes are advance payments by a consumer for goods and services that are not supplied immediately; they are not financial services. It is not clear whether they are an issue for any of the bodies provided for in the Bill to consider and I do not think they will be a matter for the Financial Policy Committee, with its remit of considering threats to financial stability.
Since the collapse of Farepak, a considerable amount of work has been done to consider how best to protect consumers who enter into prepayment schemes and how best to deal with situations where companies collapse. Following the collapse of Farepak, the then Department of Trade and Industry worked with the remaining hamper companies to put in place effective protection for customers’ prepayments, including oversight by a new body, the Christmas Prepayment Association. The Government also supported the OFT to deliver a consumer awareness and education campaign to empower consumers to make decisions that are right for their circumstances. The Money Advice Service also provides advice on its website about what protection is offered for various ways of saving money, including prepayment schemes. I would encourage hon. Members who are aware of constituents who continue to engage with such schemes to point them in the direction of the Money Advice Service.
Katy Clark (North Ayrshire and Arran) (Lab)
If the Minister does not feel that this Bill is the appropriate vehicle for dealing with that matter through regulation, when he sums up could he outline where it should be dealt with? There is a strong view that the current legislative framework is not sufficient.
Mr Hoban
Part of the challenge is that such schemes are part of a subset of advance payment schemes that are not necessarily covered by the Bill. These issues are consumer issues and I shall certainly raise with my hon. Friend the Minister with responsibility for consumer affairs where he feels that the best opportunity might be to do that and whether there are some non-statutory alternatives to regulation that will help protect the customers of such schemes.
Before I speak to Government amendment 3, I can let my hon. Friend the Member for Enfield North know when the research will be published. The research project will conclude this summer, and given that the transfer of consumer credit to the FCA will not take place until 2014, that gives us time to act. That is not to say that nothing is happening in the meantime in the regulation of consumer credit: the OFT is doing a great deal of work in that area. I am as keen as he and others are to ensure that the matter is brought to a head as soon as possible, so that the right protections are put in place for our constituents.
Government amendment 3 aims to improve the drafting, following the close and valuable scrutiny in the Public Bill Committee. In Committee, questions were raised about the appropriateness of “supply”, and the amendment clarifies the Money Advice Service financial education function so that it should include the promotion of awareness of the financial advantages and disadvantages relating to issues that may arise over the lifetime of the product, not just to the initial purchase or supply of a particular good and service. The function might include, for example, promoting awareness of the financial advantages and disadvantages of a person exercising the right to receive part of their pension savings as a lump sum, or the financial advantages or disadvantages of the various options open to a person who is having difficulty paying their mortgage.
I am confident that the Bill as it stands already provides for such matters to be covered by the Money Advice Service financial education function, but the amendment helpfully clarifies the scope of the MAS’s specific duty to promote awareness of the advantages and disadvantages of particular goods and services. I am grateful to the Members who raised the matter in the Committee, and I hope that the amendment addresses their concerns.
Amendments 37 and 55 would affect the functions of the MAS. Amendment 55 would require the MAS to support the provision of legal advice in relation to personal debt, with funding received from the Ministry of Justice to support that work. The amendment would reinstate changes to legal aid in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill. For the reasons clearly set out by my right hon. and learned Friend the Justice Secretary, we cannot use the Financial Services Bill to compensate for reforms to legal aid in the other Bill as a roundabout way of maintaining funding for not-for-profit bodies; moreover, effectively reinstating those categories in the scope of legal aid means reinstating legal aid for all legal advice, not just for those in not-for-profit organisations.
Amendment 55 is not required because the Money Advice Service already has sufficient responsibility and funding to assist members of the public with debt management. The MAS and other organisations provide debt advice directly, including by advising people who are facing difficulties with debt on the options available to them and the possible legal ramifications. For example, they provide advice to people who are at risk of losing their home and advice on options to resolve their financial difficulties. Any debt adviser trained to intermediate level can give advice on such matters as a matter of course. In contentious areas of law, such as the impact of insolvency or immigration status, an adviser could seek external advice. Similarly, if a non-debt issue arose, or substantive legal advice was required, an adviser could refer the client to a specialist solicitor. I therefore do not think the amendment is necessary, as the MAS and other organisations, through their debt advice services, already advise people facing difficulties with debt on the impact of the law on their situation.
Amendment 37 would require the MAS to provide
“targeted, proactive and easily accessible advice to those encountering economic disadvantage, financial exclusion or financial exploitation.”
I am sympathetic to the intention behind the amendment: clearly, the service provided by the MAS should encompass such groups of people. However, as I said in Committee, one of the key features of the Money Advice Service is the breadth of consumers it is there to serve. Millions of people can be vulnerable to poor money management at any point in their lives, especially as they experience key life events. Similarly, many people, regardless of their financial circumstances, may not know where to turn for impartial financial advice, or may not know that they need information and advice in the first place. I therefore do not think it appropriate for the legislation to prescribe which groups are in most need of the service. By focusing the Money Advice Service on particular groups, we risk neglecting others who may be equally in need.
It is clear to me, from discussions I have had with the management of the Money Advice Service, that they recognise the need to provide support across a wide range of people. They also recognise the importance of face-to-face debt and money advice and the importance of ensuring the right channels of support are there to help those in need of financial advice—for example, those who need guidance on how to get out of debt or how to protect their families in the long term. I believe the MAS is acutely aware of its broader social obligation.
The group of amendments before us raises important issues that impact on many in our constituencies. The action that we have taken to tighten the consumer credit regime by moving consumer credit from the OFT to the FCA is the right way to proceed. This is a dynamic and changing market, and one of the great advantages that the FCA brings is the opportunity to keep issues such as the cost of credit under review and to make sure that it responds in a timely manner to help protect our constituents in these difficult areas.
Chris Leslie (Nottingham East) (Lab/Co-op)
I suppose the Minister is right in one respect. This long group of amendments under the catch-all heading “Consumer protection” raises many issues about which our constituents care deeply. It is just a shame that the Minister is resisting and rebutting almost all of them, except the Government amendments. But I do not want to sound too churlish. He has conceded—we have managed to extract—one minor concession from the Government in Government amendment 3. I therefore feel that all those hours and weeks in Committee were productively spent, and for that small measure I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman.
Time is short so I will comment on the series of amendments tabled by the Minister, and then on those in my name and that of my hon. Friend the Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun (Cathy Jamieson). Government new clause 4 sets out a series of order-making powers for the Treasury in respect of the transfer of regulation of consumer credit matters from the Office of Fair Trading to the Financial Conduct Authority. I am grateful for the clarification of the Government’s intentions. My comments on this and the consequential amendments in the group relate to the time scale for these arrangements. The new clause sets out the paving changes rather than the regulations, saying that the Treasury may well make these orders in due course. It gives a sense of the architecture of those and the fact that most of the powers available to the OFT under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 will be available to the FCA and so on, but we do not yet have the time scale for those orders to be made and to take effect.
Many loose ends remain, even after the amendments. How will the local weights and measures authorities dovetail with the new arrangements, the FCA and so forth? What is holding the Government up in making those changes, publishing the new arrangements and making it clear to those who may be slightly concerned that the transition period could create a sense of limbo in which a number of issues fall between the gaps? We do not want consumer credit arrangements to be put on the back burner during the transfer—quite the opposite. We need this time more than ever to help consumers who are under strain on various fronts, as is pointed out in the amendments tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Katy Clark), the hon. Member for Eastbourne (Stephen Lloyd) and others.
New clause 9 in my name seeks, as the Minister mentioned, to require the Financial Conduct Authority to produce recommendations within a year of the commencement of the Act to phase out the practice of directly charging consumers fees or charges for the provision of debt management plans.
Mr Hoban
This has been a thoughtful and helpful debate, which has raised a number of issues.
The hon. Member for Nottingham East (Chris Leslie), who is not in the Chamber now, asked what would happen next. The powers to transfer consumer credit regulation can be used only when the Bill has received Royal Assent and the new regulator is up and running. A good deal of work is being done. We are examining the perimeter and nature of regulation, and are working closely with the industry and consumer stakeholders who are advising us. We expect to consult formally on the secondary legislation effecting the transfer, and on an impact assessment of our proposals, early in 2013. The transfer will then be subject to the affirmative procedure and the approval of both Houses of Parliament. That does not, of course, mean that the OFT is now a lame duck regulator. It is looking hard at various aspects of various aspects of detriment to consumer credit, and is trying to do the best possible job to protect the interests of consumers.
The hon. Gentleman—who has now returned to the Chamber—asked what role would be played by trading standards authorities. One of the Government amendments deals with that. Trading standards authorities, known more colloquially as weights and measures bodies, play a role in the enforcement of the current consumer credit regime, and I expect that to continue. The precise nature of their role will be governed by the consultation to which I referred earlier.
A number of Members asked what the OFT was doing now to regulate the high-cost credit sector. I was asked about affordability checks, about rolling over, and about unfair treatment of borrowers who find themselves in financial difficulty. The OFT is focusing on all those issues. It intends to engage in on-site inspections of about 60 major payday lenders, and in compliance work alongside trade associations and others. It is also paying close attention to the advertising of high-cost credit, and is examining a number of the websites operated by providers. It has highlighted a number of areas in which advertising practices need to be improved, and its final report will be published later this year.
Members have bandied around a figure of 18 months in connection with the research that is taking place. In fact it was commissioned last July, and the process has yet to reach its first anniversary. Members may be confusing that research with the broader review following consultation on consumer credit, or with the personal insolvency review that we launched in October 2010. Voluntary action is already being taken to tackle some of the incentives offered by the store card sector. I think that we should await the publication of the report.
As the Bill will give the FCA powers to intervene in relation to interest rates, I think that the aim of amendment 40 has already been achieved. The FCA’s new product intervention power will enable it to act more quickly and decisively when it considers that a product, or product feature, has the potential to cause significant detriment. It is a broad power, which I think is helpful. As has been established, a range of interventions can be made. The FCA can impose requirements on products as well as banning them outright, and can make rules on charges and on specific product features, including the duration of a contract.
Stella Creasy
There is genuine concern about the view of lawyers that unless the power is explicit, it will be open to challenge. Will the Minister publish the legal advice that he has had to the contrary, supporting his assessment that the power in amendment 40 could enable prices to be capped as part of action on consumer detriment?
Mr Hoban
I am certain that the FCA’s broad range of powers will enable it to do that. It can use its powers in pursuit of its consumer protection objectives. However, those are not the only powers that are available.
The hon. Member for Makerfield (Yvonne Fovargue) asked whether the FCA would be able to suspend permission with immediate effect. Under new section 55Y, it will be able to vary the permission of a firm, or to impose a requirement on a firm with immediate effect if it considers that to be necessary. We will consider whether the OFT should be given the same powers in the interim.
A helpful question was asked about the asymmetry between the information given to lenders and that given to borrowers, and about whether a cash illustration could be provided alongside information about the annual percentage rate. The consumer credit directive requires the costs of credit to be specified in terms of the APR. The Commission will review the directive in 2013. We have ensured that there is a new “with regard to” provision for the FCA—something else that it must consider when it seeks to secure an appropriate degree of protection for consumers. Consumers must have timely provision of information, and that advice must be accurate and be fit for purpose in the eyes of the consumer, not those of the provider of the service. We will consider whether a provider of consumer credit should quote an indicative cash cost alongside the APR.
Chris Leslie
I welcome the Minister’s comments. Setting aside whether he thinks the new clause should be added to the Bill, he seems to be saying that he agrees it would be a good idea in principle to encourage all banks and other lenders to engage in some sort of forewarning of customers. Does he agree that if he says that is a good idea and the Opposition think it is a good idea, that sends a signal to the new regulator to make that a priority?
Mr Hoban
I do not think this needs regulatory action. I think it is in the interests of lenders to provide the right information to their borrowers to enable them to plan ahead, however, because it is not in the interests of lenders for borrowers to fall into arrears as a consequence of increases in interest rates. That is why it is important that potential changes in interest rates are considered in lending decisions and that information is available to help borrowers to think about the impact on their circumstances of changes in interest rates. I do not believe that is necessarily a regulatory matter; rather, I think it is in the interests of firms and their borrowers that such information be available.
On the issue of consumer credit, I do not think amendment 40 is necessary. The Treasury is confident that a range of powers is in place to help people in respect of payday lenders and high-cost lenders. I do not believe new clause 10 is necessary either, but I think it is in the interests of lenders to ensure that the information in question is available.
On new clause 12, the hon. Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Katy Clark) spoke very powerfully about the Farepak issue and how to protect such consumers in future. We must recognise, however, that there is a cost attached to any additional protections for consumers, and that it will, to some degree at least, be borne by consumers.
The question of the regulation of prepayments is complex, as was evident from the work done by the previous Government after the publication of the “Pay now, pay later” report by Consumer Focus. There are no simple solutions, particularly when we want to ensure that vulnerable consumers or those on low incomes can still access the goods and services they want. Introducing some form of set-aside or ring-fencing of funds or some form of insurance in order to be able to compensate consumers in the event of an insolvency can impose significant additional costs on businesses and therefore potentially on consumers. Several industry sectors have concluded that the gains from increased consumer confidence outweigh the costs, however, and have gone ahead with sector schemes. We will continue to monitor this topic. My hon. Friend the Member for Solihull (Lorely Burt) asked who was the right Minister to pursue in this regard: I suggest it is the Minister responsible for consumer affairs, the Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my hon. Friend the Member for North Norfolk (Norman Lamb).
The hon. Member for North Ayrshire and Arran also asked about credit hierarchy. That is an important subject, and I am very conscious of delays in making payments to the Farepak creditors. We must, however, bear in mind the fact that one of the aims of insolvency law is, as far as possible, to achieve an equitable distribution among the unsecured creditors. Those unsecured creditors could, of course, include small suppliers for whom the debt from a prepayment scheme could result in the failure of their business. There is therefore a difficult balance to strike.
Katy Clark
What is different about this situation, however, is that often the reason for prepayment is that the person buying the product wants to purchase in that way because of their financial situation, and the person selling the product gets the financial advantage of holding that money for a period of time. I therefore cannot understand the Minister’s point, in that at present the advantage is with the organisation selling the product. Does the Minister agree that we should be considering how to move towards a situation in which the consumer is able to pay in this way and get protection for the funds they have paid out?
Mr Hoban
The hon. Lady makes an important point. It is my understanding that some of these prepayment schemes get their income from being able to negotiate a discount with the supplier of the goods, as well as, perhaps, from the interest they earn on the prepayments. The question then arises whether the revenue the prepayment scheme gets is sufficient to outweigh the cost of enhancing customer protection. Some of these schemes are administratively expensive, and the cost of protection may exceed the income generated, which would lead to that service being withdrawn from the consumer.
As this exchange demonstrates, some complex issues are involved. The hon. Lady is right to raise them, and it is right that the Government should continue to address them. Many people rely on these schemes and it is important that they are well protected. We should make sure that there are alternative sources of information for them, in order to enable them to judge where they might get best protection and, perhaps, earn some interest themselves on the prepayment they are making, rather than the supplier making that money.
John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington) (Lab)
Both of the issues under discussion have cross-party support. There is a consumer affairs element in them, and this kind of legislation comes around very rarely. Indeed, I doubt whether we will see such an all-encompassing Bill for another decade. There does not appear to be any consumer legislation in the planned Queen’s Speech, other than the proposed groceries adjudicator Bill. Will the Minister therefore reconsider these two matters, and meet the relevant Members to see whether there is any way they could be better addressed in this Bill before it goes to the other place or before the final vote on it?
Mr Hoban
I think that there is adequate provision in the Bill on consumer credit; the FCA has the powers to tackle that issue and I am confident that it will be able to make appropriate use of the remedies available to it. A different issue about pre-payment schemes has been raised, but that does not fall within the scope of the Bill. Of course there is a mechanism in the Bill to move the regulatory perimeter if appropriate, but I think that it is the Minister with responsibility for consumer affairs who needs to respond on that point.
I know that we want to move on to deal with the next group of amendments, but before concluding I just wish to say that there is support across the House for new clause 4, which enables us to complete the transfer of regulation from the OFT to the FCA. That does yield important benefits for our constituents. We need to get that regime right if we are to ensure that there is a reasonable supply of affordable credit to our constituents and that they are well protected—that is the goal we are all aiming at. The Bill contains the powers to do that, and I commend new clause 4 to the House.
Question put and agreed to.
New clause 4 accordingly read a Second time, and added to the Bill.
New Clause 1
Retrospective reviews of Bank performance by court of directors and publication of court minutes
‘(1) Section 2 of the Bank of England Act 1998 (Functions of court of directors) is amended as follows.
(2) After subsection (5) add—
“(6) The court shall conduct retrospective reviews of the performance of the Bank with respect to its functions and objectives.
(7) The court shall determine the particular matters to be reviewed under subsection (6).
(8) The court must publish a report on each review carried out under subsections (6) and (7) unless the court decides that all or part of such a report should not be published for reasons of confidentiality or because it would endanger financial stability.
(9) When all or part of a report of a review is not published under the provisions of subsection (8), the court must—
(a) publish as much as possible of the report,
(b) send a copy of the full report to the Chairman of the Treasury Committee of the House of Commons or, in exceptional circumstances, inform the Chairman of the Treasury Committee of the reasons for not sending it, and
(c) publish the report or part of the report as soon as possible after the court decides that the considerations in subsection (8) no longer apply.
(10) After each meeting of the court, the Bank shall publish minutes of the meeting before the end of the period of two weeks beginning with the day of the meeting.
(11) Subsection (10) shall not apply to minutes of any proceedings where the court has decided that publication should be delayed for reasons of confidentiality or because publication would endanger financial stability.
(12) Where any part of the court’s minutes is not published under the provisions of subsection (11), the Chairman of the court shall inform the Chairman of the Treasury Committee of the House of Commons of the reasons.
(13) Any part of the minutes of a meeting of the court must be published as soon as the court has decided that the considerations in subsection (11) no longer apply.”.’.—(Mr Tyrie.)
Brought up, and read the First time.
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester) (Con)
I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.
Chris Leslie
We want to see more competition in the financial services sector. That is an important aspect of improving choice and reducing costs for consumers, but essentially the amendments that I have been discussing relate to prudential regulation. I do not think the competition argument necessarily supersedes that.
I agree, and there is cross-party support for this, that we need to improve prudential regulation within our financial regulatory system. There is a degree of consensus in that area, which is why we did not vote against the Bill on Second Reading, for example. The question is how that pans out. The Chair of the Select Committee began his comments by saying that the Bill is defective in a number of regards and needs significant improvement. Amen to that. I agree. That is the problem and that is why I have so many concerns about aspects of the Bill, particularly in clause 5, in respect of the way the Government are choosing to divide up the regulators.
I must move on. Another area about which I have concerns is the Government’s refusal to accept that the Bank of England should be under a duty to minimise the use of public funds—to minimise the recourse to taxpayers’ money—in order to support or rescue parts of the UK financial industry. If we were all to go back to our constituencies and explain what we were doing on Monday, we would say that we had been talking about the Financial Services Bill. Most of our constituents would say, “Good. Does that mean that the taxpayer is not going to be on the line to bail out all those banks again in the future?” and of course we would all want to say yes. That is the whole purpose of what we are supposed to be doing here.
One of the most important things we need in the Bill is a provision to ensure that the system is designed such that any changes or rescue arrangements will not burden the taxpayer in the future. It is important to specify that the Bank of England should take responsibility for minimising that likelihood. It is a pretty straightforward amendment. These should not be partisan issues. That aim should be at the heart of the Bank’s financial stability objective. We know about the costs of bailing out the banks and how those have hit public finances.
Having heard the Minister’s entreaties in Committee, the hon. Members for Wyre Forest (Mark Garnier) and for West Suffolk (Matthew Hancock) and others said that the our earlier amendment was deficient because it would have placed a duty on the Bank of England to minimise the use of public funds. I have thought about that carefully and come back with an amendment that simply requires the Bank to have regard to the need to minimise that. I hope that removes any worry about justiciability, which was one of the arguments upon which the Minister relied to rebut the suggestion in Committee. I do not think it is reasonable to say that it will blur or confuse the issue if we ask the Bank of England to keep in its mind’s eye the impact that any of its decisions will have on public funds. Ultimately, most of our constituents would expect us to legislate today to minimise the recourse to public funds. I hope the Minister will accept the amendment. If not, the other place will return to the issue.
The hon. Member for Chichester pointed to amendment 53 in my name and that of my hon. Friend the Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun (Cathy Jamieson) about parliamentary scrutiny. For this House, it is an incredibly important issue and I know that Members on the Government Benches feel strongly about it too. We are giving the Bank of England extensive new powers that will affect businesses, consumers and our constituents. We still do not know what these macro-prudential tools will be. We had a report from the Bank of England last December intimating that they may touch on certain aspects of loan-to-value ratios, although Paul Tucker, the deputy governor at the Bank of England, said the other day, “This looks like hot stuff. Maybe it’s too hot for us to handle at the Bank of England.” Maybe that is for the Treasury to decide. I think the Bank of England recognises that there is an accountability deficiency. That golden threat of accountability does not lead back to Parliament, as it should.
Mr Hoban
We have spent a lot of time discussing the issue. Does the hon. Gentleman not remember that the power to grant macro-prudential tools is subject to the affirmative procedure? There is a role for Parliament to play. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor said on Second Reading that he hoped that that debate would take place on the Floor of the House.
Chris Leslie
I totally agree with the hon. Gentleman. That is the very least that we should have. I simply counsel the House that many hon. Members are already under significant pressure because of the European rules and regulations that seem to come from an unaccountable place. It is not entirely unaccountable, but it can sometimes feel that way to our constituents. If we end up with a situation where we do not put in place at this stage the right parliamentary scrutiny arrangements, we are potentially opening up another front where a powerful institution, unelected and seemingly very distant from our constituents concerns, could have a major impact on their day to day lives, and we would be sitting here twiddling our thumbs unable to do anything about it, never mind even to debate it. We have had debates in the past on the retail distribution review and other examples where there has been massive frustration in the House about the lack of an accountability thread between parliamentarians and regulators. That would be magnified many times over if we did not put in place the right arrangements.
Chris Leslie
In certain circumstances, Parliament should be sovereign. That is an important principle in our constitution. I do not think that regulators should be able to override Parliament, if that is the Minister’s suggestion. I am pretty sure it is not. Ultimately, in certain circumstances, Parliament should be able to make the final decision. That is an important cornerstone of our constitution.
Mark Garnier
It is a great pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Leeds East (Mr Mudie), with whom I serve on the Treasury Committee. It is interesting that I am the fourth consecutive Committee member to speak.
The House will not be surprised to hear that I rise to speak to new clause 1, tabled in the name of my hon. Friend the Committee Chairman, under whom it has been a great pleasure to serve. He is a very forensic Chairman of a Committee doing some extraordinarily good work at a time when it could not be more important—when we are facing some of the most fundamental problems in the economic world and when it is incredibly important that we do something significant about financial regulation. There is no doubt that something needs to be done. We have had a problem with a system of financial regulation that failed to address the problems with the banks, and the Bill travels a huge distance in trying to resolve those problems and come up with a robust new regulatory framework.
Having been a compliance officer under not one but three regulatory regimes—the Securities and Futures Authority, the Financial Services Authority and the Securities and Investment Board—and, prior to that, a regulated dealer on the floor of the stock exchange under the old stock exchange rules, I have had a fair degree of practical experience of financial regulation. Furthermore, in the past 18 months or so, I have, with the rest of the Committee, spent a huge amount of time scrutinising and studying the draft recommendations for the Bill. I also spent some 50 hours, in the Bill Committee, with the hon. Member for Nottingham East (Chris Leslie), who waxed lyrical and at great length—and with great intelligence, I might add; and here we are on the Floor of the House talking about the matter yet again.
A number of things in the Bill are not ideal, but the one surgical cut that would have the most effect would be new clause 1. The Bill contains perhaps the single most fundamental change that we will see in financial regulation—the creation of the Financial Policy Committee. We have heard a lot about the FPC. One of the criticisms is that it could make profound changes to our financial system in trying to deal with financial instabilities, with bubbles that seem to be growing and all the rest of it. We can speculate ad nauseam about the type of interventions that could be made, but the one that people talk about a great deal is where the FPC may, with one of its tools of direction or recommendation, direct banks to change the loan-to-value ratios on mortgages. That could have far-reaching effects for our constituents.
Mark Garnier
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that clarification. Interestingly enough, though, it is perhaps one of the powers that the FPC should have kept. Although it could have profound effects for people moving and so on, it is incredibly important not to lose sight of what others issues the FPC is there to address. In the past, as bubbles have grown, Members have sometimes been reluctant to take away the punch bowl before the party is over. Sometimes, when we allow bubbles to get bigger than they should be, the result is a financial crisis of the kind that we have seen. There are many things, on an analysis of the financial crisis, that could have happened, but one of them was allowing a colossal asset bubble to grow against uncontrolled lending. If a Member of Parliament or the Chancellor of the Exchequer had turned around in 2007 and said, “We’re going to stop that,” there would have been an absolute outcry. However, if the FPC had done that, it would have been acting without the worry about what would happen at the next general election, and perhaps we would have avoided the problem. It is for that sort of intervention that the FPC is being created.
Kelvin Hopkins
I rise to express my strong support for the amendments in the name of my hon. Friend the Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell).
There are two components of the argument: the first is the relationship between the Governor of the Bank of England and the Government, but the second is the relationship between this House of Parliament and the Government. On both, I strongly believe my hon. Friend has a point. Like him, I was unhappy about the decision to hand power over monetary policy to the Bank of England and give it independence. All aspects of macro-economic management ought to be matters for Ministers accountable to Parliament. I maintain that view and, in a sense, recent events have proved that my hon. Friend and I were right. I thought at the time that if the Governor of the Bank of England or the Monetary Policy Committee chose to be hawkish on interest rates when we had a recession on our hands, there could be a serious conflict between the Bank and Government. Fortunately, the Bank has been sensible in managing monetary policy and that clash did not occur, but it could have happened in 2008. Had the Bank been governed by a hawkish Governor, we could have seen a serious clash and those powers no doubt taken away. I was comforted by the thought that if the Bank of England got out of control, we could easily take back powers. It is not the same with the European Central Bank, where powers have been given away and cannot be taken back.
In relations between Parliament and Government, pre-appointment hearings have been shown to be a success. I have been involved in not just the two most recent pre-appointment hearings, but in developing the arguments in favour of pre-appointment hearings as a member of the Public Administration Committee for the past 10 years. Brilliant work was done by Tony Wright, who made a real impact on our constitution. Pre-appointment hearings are first class. They are not just an experiment; they are here to stay. I would like the Governor of the Bank of England to be subject to a rigorous pre-appointment hearing so that we know that they will serve the economy and relate to the House, and not just be a law unto themselves. I have probably run out of time. I know the Minister needs to speak, but I have made my point.
Mr Hoban
This has been a thoughtful and constructive debate covering the wide range of issues in this group of amendments. I shall organise my remarks in two parts. I shall deal first with issues relating to the Bank of England and the Financial Policy Committee, and secondly with the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority.
I begin by speaking to Government amendment 12. This change was prompted by an amendment proposed in Committee by the hon. Member for Nottingham East (Chris Leslie), on the wording used to ensure that the view of the Treasury member of the FPC cannot be taken into account in determining whether the FPC has reached a decision by consensus. Although the substance of the provision, which is consistent with the general principle that the Treasury member of the FPC should not have a vote, was endorsed by the Committee, some members of the Committee thought that the wording was ambiguous. Some, including the hon. Member for Foyle (Mark Durkan), felt that the current wording could imply that the Treasury is not even allowed to exercise influence through debate or discussion.
I therefore committed to look again at the wording to see whether it could be made clearer. Amendment 12 amends the provision to make it clear that in determining whether the FPC has reached consensus, the chair should disregard “any view expressed” by the Treasury member. This does not mean that the Treasury member cannot influence the discussion and debate, but in determining consensus, that voice should not be taken into account.
The main focus of the debate has been accountability and transparency. That is absolutely right. Hon. Members are right to highlight the fact that as a consequence of the Bill, the Bank of England takes on more power and responsibility, partly because the PRA becomes part of the Bank family, and through the creation of the FPC. It is right that we strengthen the transparency and accountability of the Bank as a consequence of the reforms before us. The debate about macro-prudential tools was a helpful way of characterising that debate and talking about some of the proposals that we have made. We are committed to ensuring the ex ante approval of those macro-prudential tools by this place and the other place. Hon. Members are right to call for a review of the use of those tools and a retrospective review of the Bank’s performance. That is important too.
Let me deal first with the ex ante side of the equation. Amendment 22 talks about economic growth being part of the FPC’s objective. The Government are clear that the FPC’s principal aim should be to make the financial system safer and more stable. We do not seek the stability of the graveyard. The FPC should not be able to pursue stability to the point where the financial sector can no longer support the real economy. This means that the FPC should not be able to take action that would seriously damage the ability of the financial sector to contribute to growth in the medium to long term and the FPC should consider whether the costs of the action that it proposes would be disproportionate to its benefits. The Bill as drafted already ensures this.
Mr Hoban
My hon. Friend makes an important point. We need to ensure that the right scrutiny arrangements are in place, but we also need to recognise that the super-affirmative procedure can create delays, because there are times when if the House is in recess the clock stops, so there is a challenge there. In addition, a blanket adoption of a super-affirmative procedure may mean that even minor technical changes are subject to quite a lengthy process. The point that I would take from this debate is that we need to ensure that proper parliamentary scrutiny of these measures is in place, and that there is proper consultation with the public and a proper assessment of the economic impact of these macro-prudential tools on the wider economy. I hope that the Government’s position is clear. I am not ruling out the proposal. There are some issues with it, but we are committed to ensuring that the right procedures are in place to ensure proper parliamentary scrutiny.
I come now to the matters at the heart of new clause 1 tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Chichester (Mr Tyrie) and his colleagues from the Treasury Committee. I agree entirely that the robustness of the Bank of England’s governance arrangements is vital. Hon. Members on both sides of the House have been absolutely right to point out that it is even more important given the expanded responsibilities provided to the Bank of England under the legislation. There is a consensus that the governance of the Bank needs to be strengthened in order better to equip it for these new roles. The court will need to adapt and evolve in order to operate as an effective governing body, able to oversee the Bank in transition and in steady state, ensuring that the Bank is adequately resourced to meet its new responsibilities, offering challenge to the Bank’s executive and supporting accountability to Parliament. With that in mind, a set of proposals has already been put forward by the Bank of England to help address these concerns.
Last year the Treasury Committee published an in-depth and thoughtful report into the accountability of the Bank. In response to that, the court of the Bank of England set out some positive and constructive proposals to strengthen its oversight of the Bank’s financial stability activities and to enhance accountability. Central to the court’s proposals is the creation of a new oversight committee for financial stability, a sub-committee of the court that will be responsible for overseeing the entirety of the Bank’s financial stability activities. This wholly non-executive committee will have access to the meetings and papers of the Bank’s policy-making committees, including the FPC, and will be able both to review the internal decision-making processes leading to policy outcomes and to commission periodic reviews of policy-making performance from expert external authorities. These reports will be published, unless publication would be contrary to the public interest. We welcome the court’s proposals.
My hon. Friend the Member for Chichester, in his remarks welcoming the court’s response to the Treasury Committee’s recommendations, recognised that there has been change, but he also outlined a number of areas in a report published on 23 January and argued that the court’s proposals did not go far enough, particularly with regard to the policy reviews. Recognising this, the Chancellor agreed with the Governor and the chair of the court that the new oversight body will be expected to commission retrospective internal reviews from the Bank’s policy makers of their own policy making and implementation performance. I think that the Bank has made some progress, but my hon. Friend raised the important question of whether the oversight arrangements should be set out in primary legislation in the Bill.
My hon. Friend the Member for Chichester also mentioned publication of the court’s minutes. The Bank has committed to publishing what it terms a record of future court meetings. It is worth pointing out that the FPC also produces what it calls a record of its meetings, which is a very full account of the debates that go on in the FPC, and we will expect a similar process to be undertaken for the court’s meetings. Let me be clear: I believe that there is a clear need for the Bank’s accountability arrangements to be strengthened through the publication of the court’s minutes and the enhanced scrutiny of the court’s work, although I believe that the changes announced by the Bank help address the concerns raised by my hon. Friend and the Treasury Committee. He made some powerful arguments that have been echoed by other members of the Committee, and we will consider further whether these arrangements should be put in the Bill. We will reflect on these matters and reconsider them when the Bill goes to the other place. I hope that that helps to reassure the House on how seriously we take these matters and our willingness to listen and respond to the concerns raised by Members during the debate, particularly the contributions made by my hon. Friend and others.
Chris Leslie
I just want to be clear about what the Minister is saying. Is he saying that when the Bill comes before the other place for consideration he will accept retrospective reviews and publication of minutes or that he will simply consider it?
Mr Hoban
We are clear that we want to see the court’s minutes published, which I think is absolutely vital, and that we want to see those retrospective reviews in place. The questions my hon. Friend the Member for Chichester has asked are whether we have gone far enough, whether the proposals should be in the Bill or whether we should just accept the proposal put forward by the court. Tonight I have committed to listening to those arguments—he made a powerful speech—and returning to the issue when the Bill goes to the other place.
Mr Tyrie
Will the Minister clarify a couple more points? First, when he says that he is committed to the publication of the court’s minutes, does he mean the publication of the full minutes or only a summary record of them, which it appears is what was proposed before. Secondly, he thoughtfully suggested that the non-executives of the Bank should commission internal reviews. Will they also be permitted to look at, assess and comment on the merits of the material they receive?
Mr Hoban
I think that it is important that the court’s non-executives perform a full role in scrutinising the Bank’s activities. They need to be able to look at the output of those reviews, consider them and express their views on them. On the issue of minutes, I will not say that we are getting into a semantic debate, because that would be unfair. What we want to do is ensure that a proper record of the court’s meetings is published.
I am not sure that the minutes should necessarily be verbatim, reporting every word that everyone has said, but they should certainly be a very good summary, catching the thought processes that took place in the court and the issues that were debated and discussed, so that Parliament and stakeholders can hold the Bank to account for the way in which it has used its powers not just when it comes to the Financial Policy Committee, but in other areas. I hope that that gives my hon. Friend the reassurance he looks for on our commitment to transparency and on ensuring that we do all we can to strengthen the transparency arrangements of the Bank of England.
I am very conscious that a number of other points were made, and I want to discuss them. The hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell) tabled two amendments on the appointment of the Governor of the Bank of England and Parliament’s role in it. We do not have time tonight to go into the detail of that procedure, but the Chancellor has said that there will be an open process, and having heard the debate in the House he will reflect on it when thinking about how the process should develop.
I turn to Government amendment 1. In Committee, the hon. Member for Nottingham East argued for a check on the PRA’s ability to decide not to disclose the use of its veto over the FCA. The Government accept that the PRA will always be the best placed organisation to determine whether or when to disclose the use of its veto, but there is room for an element of independent consideration when it decides against such disclosure. The Government have therefore decided to place a duty on the PRA, through amendment 1, to consult the Treasury on a decision not to disclose, and this will ensure that proper disclosures do take place.
I will respond in writing to the remarks that my hon. Friend the Member for Cities of London and Westminster (Mark Field) made on the use of skilled persons. He raised some important issues.
Alun Cairns
Does my hon. Friend recognise the strength of a practitioners panel in relation to the PRA, given that he has already accepted the merits of a practitioner panel in relation to the FCA?
Mr Hoban
What is important is that the PRA establishes its process for consultation with regulated firms. It is required to set out in its annual report its process of consultation.
In conclusion, this is an important part of the legislation, and I am very disappointed that the hon. Member for Nottingham East has tabled a wrecking amendment that would take the guts out of the Bill. I thought that the Opposition supported the reform of financial regulation, but they clearly do not, so I hope that if the hon. Gentleman puts his wrecking amendment to the vote the House will oppose it.
Mr Tyrie
I am grateful to the Minister for what I have heard this evening. He has shown enough flexibility for me to feel able to withdraw new clause 1, but before I do so it is just worth my spelling out what I think I have heard.
I think I have heard that we are going to have the publication of the full minutes of the court of directors, and that we are going to permit and, indeed, encourage the court—the non-executives of the Bank of England—to commission internal reviews, to assess them and to give us their assessments, made available to Parliament.
I heard also about some flexibility on whether we will go beyond the affirmative procedure when looking at macro-prudential tools. Their proper scrutiny is extremely important for millions of people in this country. Whether we will go as far as a super-affirmative procedure I do not know, but an element of flexibility has also been provided for there.
With that in mind, my intention is not to push new clause 1 to a vote. I beg to ask leave to withdraw the motion.
Clause, by leave, withdrawn.
New Clause 10
Mortgage rate forewarning
‘The Treasury shall bring forward recommendations within six months of Royal Assent of this Act requiring mortgage lenders to forewarn existing customers about potential interest rate changes and their impact on the affordability of mortgage repayments.’.—(Chris Leslie.)
Brought up, and read the First time.
Question put, That the clause be read a Second time.
Financial Services Bill (Programme) (No. 3)
Mark Hoban Excerpts(12 years, 7 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Mr Mark Hoban)
The hon. Member for Nottingham East (Chris Leslie) protests too much about this matter. Those of us who are veterans of the Bill and those who occasionally came to watch our proceedings will know why 20 clauses went undebated, as is clear from the Committee Hansard. The Opposition agreed on the programme motion and the number of sittings—there was no Division on the programme motion after Second Reading—and ample time was given. However, on one occasion the hon. Gentleman spent an hour debating a set of minor and technical amendments, during which he discussed the correct terminology for people from Gibraltar and whether any Committee members had ever had the pleasure of visiting Gibraltar, questioned the drafting conventions relating to the insertion of amendments into a lettered list, and speculated as to the bedtime of my officials. He did not strike me as a man who was keen to press forward with scrutiny of the Bill.
This Bill has received proper scrutiny. It has been discussed by the Treasury Committee—we have a number of its reports before us today, which will enable us to discuss the issue—and has received pre-legislative scrutiny by a Joint Committee chaired by my right hon. Friend the Member for Hitchin and Harpenden (Mr Lilley). We listened carefully to the arguments made by both Committees, which have been reflected in the Bill that we have debated. I believe that there was adequate time in Committee to deal with the matter. The fact that we ran out of time was not down to the way in which the Bill was debated by the Government; it was down to the way in which the Opposition handled it.
It is also the case, as my hon. Friend the Deputy Leader of the House has said, that in the last Session of the previous Government, no Bill was given more than one day on Report. Having a two-day Report Stage is important, as this Bill requires scrutiny, and I believe that a great deal of scrutiny is taking place. It is now time for us to get on with the debate, and I am sorry that the hon. Gentleman is seeking to divide the House on the motion, because the time spent on the Division could be spent discussing the Bill and getting our points across.
Question put.
UK Convergence Programme (2011-12)
Mark Hoban Excerpts(12 years, 7 months ago)
Written StatementsRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Mr Mark Hoban)
Following my statement of 27 March, Official Report, 107WS, I have today made available in the Vote Office and Printed Paper Office advanced copies of the UK’s convergence programme ahead of next week’s debates under section 5 of the European Communities (Amendment) Act 1993. This requires the Government to report to Parliament for their approval an assessment of the UK’s medium-term economic and budgetary position. This assessment comprises the Budget report and the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR’s) economic and fiscal outlook. This then forms the basis of the UK’s convergence programme, which is therefore based entirely on information already presented to Parliament. The UK is obliged to submit a convergence programme annually to the European Commission under article 121 of the treaty on the functioning of the European Union (the “Lisbon” treaty).
The debates are scheduled for 24 April in the House of Commons and 25 April in the House of Lords. The convergence programme will be submitted to the EU by 30 April.
A copy of the published programme will be deposited in the Libraries of both Houses and the document will be available electronically via the HM Treasury website following the debate.
Finance (No. 4) Bill
Mark Hoban Excerpts(12 years, 7 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Owen Smith
I will keep going for a moment and then happily give way.
The bank levy currently impacts on banks only after the first £20 billion in equities and liabilities is taken into account, capturing, in effect, the millionaires of the corporate world. When the idea of the levy was first mooted—initially by Labour Members and then after being picked up by the International Monetary Fund— [Interruption.] I am afraid that that is true. My right hon. Friend the Member for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath (Mr Brown) first mentioned a bank levy, and then the IMF picked up on it. It is a simple point, but I will happily give way if the Minister wants to intervene.
The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Mr Mark Hoban)
May I point out that the previous Government ruled out a bank levy because they did not want to introduce one unilaterally? This Government had the courage to do that, and to do the right thing so that banks could pay their fair share to the Exchequer, whereas the previous Government ran away from the issue completely.
Owen Smith
When the IMF first talked about a bank levy, it thought that an equitable, sensible amount to get from the banks in this country was £6 billion—not the £2.5 billion that the Government claim to be raising. The reality—people out there ought to understand this—is that by the end of the current spending period, the Government will be raising as much from people who eat pasties, buy or sell caravans, sit in caravans, do up listed buildings and do all the other things that have been changed under the VAT rules as they will be raising through the bank levy. That is the real comparison. The right hon. Member for Wokingham (Mr Redwood) laughs, but it is a fairly accurate comparison, and people out there will not think that it is fair or equitable. They will not understand why caravan users and pasty eaters—even if the pasties are not eaten at an ambient temperature—should bear the same degree of pain as the bankers, who, as I think many people would concede, were at the very least involved in the global crisis that paved the way for the recession of recent years.
Mr Hoban
The hon. Gentleman said that the VAT changes will raise as much as the bank levy. If he looks at table 2.1 on page 50 of the Red Book, he will see that in 2016-17 closing loopholes and correcting anomalies will raise about £350 million, but the bank levy will raise £2.5 billion. How can he square the two statements that he made?
Owen Smith
May I take this opportunity, Sir Roger, to apologise to you, to the Minister and to the House for misleading you all? Of course, I misspoke; I should have factored the granny tax into all the VAT changes. If the Minister does the maths, I am sure he will find that when one adds in pensioners on top of caravanners, those eating pasties, and those affected by the other VAT changes—
Owen Smith
I am afraid that I have been getting my facts right all afternoon: it is Government Members who have been getting their facts wrong. [Interruption.] No, amendment 1 was not wrong; it was absolutely spot on. To say that it was wrong is nonsense.
Owen Smith
The Minister gives the lie to the argument that the Government have made about this figure, which allows them to state that it is £2.3 billion, not £3.5 billion, and is therefore lower than the £2.5 billion that they are ostensibly raising through the bank levy. Of course, both the £2.3 billion figure and the £2.5 billion figure are open to question. It is not just me who thinks that; many commentators have said so.
How did the Government manage to reduce the yield of £3.5 billion that is written in black and white on page 101 of the blue book to £2.3 billion? I could tell the Committee, but I will go one better and read out a comment piece from the Financial Times from earlier this year:
“The Treasury reached its £2.3bn figure for last year by lopping off £1.2bn from the original £3.5bn figure—citing the income tax and NI which the exchequer may have lost due to banks paying lower bonuses than they might have done. (A speculative behavioural assumption).”
As anybody who has read “The Exchequer effect of the 50 per cent additional rate of income tax” will know, highly speculative behavioural assumptions are the bedrock of this Government’s economic policies. The article went on to forecast that the bank levy, which was meant to reach £2.5 billion in 2012, would actually reach only £1.3 billion. In truth it reached £1.8 billion, but it certainly did not reach the £2.5 billion that is claimed repeatedly by Government Members.
Owen Smith
At the danger of being ruled out of order for repeating today’s earlier debates—[Interruption.] The Financial Secretary says from a sedentary position that I am on the back foot, but I am absolutely not. I have been pointing out to his colleagues for the past couple of hours that the volume of behavioural change anticipated in the Exchequer analysis is fundamentally flawed. The taxable income elasticity point chosen by the Exchequer to derive that volume of behavioural change is completely outwith the normal delta used by economists to assess the elasticity of top incomes. [Interruption.] No, we are talking about the future. We are talking about what behavioural change there will be and what the yield will therefore be in future.
That takes us to the central question of the Government’s competence. There are questions to be asked about the competence of the way in which they set up the bank levy. Why on earth did the Government choose in the first instance a rate of 0.045%, only to have to increase it five times in the past 18 months to hit their annual yield target of £2.5 billion? I would be delighted to hear the Financial Secretary explain that to us. Why did the Government do it that way around? It does not make any sense to me. It would have been more sensible either to have stuck with the payroll tax, as we suggested, or to have arrived at a hard figure and allowed the yield to set the rate, not the rate to set the yield.
Thus we come to the question of how the Government can keeping saying that they are certain that the bank levy will yield £2.5 billion each year. It did not in its first year, when it hit £1.8 billion. The reason the Treasury team is continually having to tweak the rate is that it is not certain how much money it is going to yield.
Owen Smith
I am absolutely not against the rate going up. My question is about the Government’s competence and whether they know what they are doing. They clearly do not know what they are doing about the granny tax, the 50p rate, VAT—
Owen Smith
No, you’re all over the place, with the greatest respect, as this car crash of a Budget has shown not just to the House but to the whole country over the past three weeks. As an editorial in The Times said on Monday, when the Budget is still leading the headlines three weeks after the Chancellor has sat down, we know something has gone wrong, and it ain’t just one thing that has gone wrong but just about everything.
Mr Bailey
I believe that the right hon. Gentleman introduced a paper on reducing regulation which subsequently disappeared and sank without trace in the light of the financial crisis.
In conclusion, we can argue about the behavioural changes but one thing that is absolutely certain is that the bank bonus tax raised a lot of money, that it was consistent with the principles of responsible capitalism and that it may well have affected the behaviour of bankers in the long-term if they had known that the tax would be in place as long as their behaviour justified it. The fact that the Government have removed it has meant that the bonus culture has continued. There is still a sense of unfairness and outrage within the community at large that they will have to pay for the excesses of the banking community and that the Government are not prepared to do anything about it. Even at this late stage, if the Government believe that we are all in it together, that is one thing they could do that would both benefit the Treasury and demonstrate their commitment to that principle.
Mr Hoban
This has been a useful debate and the clause and schedule that we are debating legislate for a change in the rate of the bank levy, increasing the full rate to 0.088% from January 2012 and making a further increase to 0.105 % from 1 January 2013. The rate changes are intended to ensure that the levy will raise the £2.5 billion a year that we said that it would and ensure that the additional corporation tax rates do not benefit the banks, a point that the hon. Member for Pontypridd (Owen Smith) did not seem to recognise.
The amendment looks remarkably familiar, as it was proposed last year, and it is good to see it being given another outing this year, but in the shadow spokesman’s 43-minute speech we heard remarkably little about it. We saw him dig himself out of a few holes of his own making, but we did not hear anything about whom it was targeting, what measures would be taken into account or, indeed, how much it would raise.
I say that because I have been going through some transcripts of radio interviews, and so far the Opposition have claimed that their measure would be used to finance £29.6 billion of additional spending or taxation. That is 10 times the amount the bank payroll tax raised when the Labour party was in government, but that is not just protestation on my part. The Leader of the Opposition, when quizzed by Jeremy Vine on 6 January 2011 about how the Labour party would pay for its VAT rise reversal, replied:
“I said for example we should have a higher bank levy.”
He was asked in a Fresh Ideas question and answer session—we have not heard many fresh ideas in today’s debate—on 25 March 2011 about how to cut the deficit, and he said that there should be “another bankers’ bonus tax”.
That is not a concoction; those are the words of the hon. Gentleman’s party leader, and I am afraid to say that the starting bid is £29.6 billion—[Interruption.] The hon. Gentleman should not question people’s arithmetic when his own was earlier found to be flawed. He should be very careful what he says. I suggested to him last night that he should have spent more time on his speech and less time in the Members’ Dining Room, but he ignored that advice. He should have followed it, shouldn’t he, really?
So we do not know how much the Opposition’s proposal would raise or at whom it would be targeted, and there is a stark difference between it and the levy that we introduced when we came into office. The bank levy is a tax on the balance sheets of banks, banking groups and building societies, and it complements wider regulatory reforms aimed at improving financial stability, including higher capital and liquidity standards. The levy ensures that the banking sector makes a fair and substantial contribution, reflecting the risks that it poses to the financial system and to the wider economy. The levy is also intended to encourage banks to move away from risky funding models.
From the outset, the Government have clearly stated that they intend the levy to raise at least £2.5 billion each year. That is an appropriate contribution, which was set with consideration to the wider environment, and it reflects the international programme of regulatory reform, the global economic conditions and the need to maintain the competitiveness of the UK financial sector.
The forecasts produced by the Office for Budget Responsibility implied that, if we did not adjust the rate, receipts for future years would fall short of the expected £2.5 billion. We will undertake a full assessment, before next year’s operational review of the bank levy, of the reasons why there is a shortfall, but fragility in the eurozone will inevitably have had a greater than the previously expected impact on last year’s balance sheets. The rate increase introduced in the clause puts us back on track to ensure that from 2013 and in future years the levy will raise at least £2.5 billion.
The target yield was set out in this Government's first Budget, when we also announced our intention to make significant cuts to the main rate of corporation tax. We were clear at the time, as we are now, that the bank levy yield far outweighs the benefit that banks receive from the corporation tax change. Other sectors, including manufacturing, will benefit from the reduction in corporation tax, but the banks will not benefit because the bank levy rate increase will offset it.
Since our first Budget, we have gone further: we have announced additional reductions in the main rate of corporation tax, so that it now stands at 24%; and we will continue with the two further cuts planned next year and the year after. As a consequence, Britain will have a 22% rate of corporation tax—the lowest in the G7. To offset the benefits to the banking sector, and to maintain the same incentives on the banks to move to less risky funding, the increase in the levy rate in this clause takes into account additional cuts in corporation tax.
The Opposition’s amendment seeks to reintroduce the bank payroll tax, and, as I said earlier, this is not the first time that we have heard it suggested. The House disagreed with it last year, and now, as then, the Government believe that such a tax would be counter-productive and unnecessary. The tax was introduced in the last Parliament as a one-off interim measure ahead of changes in remuneration practices from corporate governance and regulatory reforms. As the previous Chancellor clearly stated, it could not be repeated. The net yield of this one-off tax, accounting for the impact that it would have on income tax and national insurance contribution receipts, was £2.3 billion—less than our annual target for the permanent bank levy. The previous Government told us that they would apply the bank bonus tax only until changes in remuneration practices were put in place.
Mr Hoban
I am trying to deal with the point that the hon. Gentleman made. It is clear that the bank payroll tax had a negligible impact on bonuses paid, whereas this Government’s action has led to bonus pools falling year on year. For example, RBS’s bonus pool fell by 40% compared with the previous year’s, and Barclays’ bonus pool was down by 25% compared with that in 2010. Real changes in remuneration practice are coming through as a result of measures that this Government have championed.
Mark Durkan
I wanted to ask about a previous point that the Minister made. He said that he hoped there would be shareholder activity to help to restrain bank bonuses. Would putting a bank payroll tax window into the permanent bank levy that the Government are introducing not be an aid to shareholders’ interests, because it would mean that the level of bank bonuses affected the overall levy that the bank was paying?
Mr Hoban
I think shareholders are well aware that bonus pools affect banks’ profitability and the amount that they are able to pay to their shareholders by way of dividends. I am demonstrating that the reforms that we have introduced since we have been in office have been far more effective in curbing behaviour in bank boardrooms than the bank payroll tax.
Let me deal now with youth unemployment, which is highlighted in the Labour amendment. The Government have introduced a wide range of measures to tackle the problem. We have improved the support that is available to jobseekers. We have introduced a more flexible jobseeker’s allowance regime better to support a jobseeker in the search for work. In June last year, we launched the Work programme, providing specialist support over the next five years to help to support the longer-term unemployed and help the most vulnerable jobseekers to keep in touch with the labour market. Later this year, we will run a pilot to find the best way to introduce a programme of enterprise loans to help young people to set up and grow their own business. We are taking other actions to tackle the problem.
We are strongly of the view that it is right that banks should make a fair contribution that reflects the risks they pose to the UK financial system and the wider economy. That is why we introduced the permanent bank levy—a move that Labour Members chose to disregard when they were in government. We need to balance fairness and competiveness and raise the revenue that we need. The actions that we are taking demonstrate that we have a clear strategy in place to enable economic recovery and create jobs. The bank levy is the right course of action. I ask the hon. Member for Pontypridd to withdraw his amendment, and I move that clause 209 and schedule 33 stand part of the Bill.
Owen Smith
There are still 1 million unemployed young people in this country. That is the highest rate since records began. Long-term youth unemployment is growing as never before. In my constituency of Pontypridd, there has been a 333% increase in long-term youth unemployment in the last year alone. The point of the amendment is to highlight that problem in the real economy. We are trying to connect this out-of-touch Government to the reality of youth unemployment, and to get them to do something to tackle it and to get growth in our economy. I have not been persuaded to withdraw the amendment and we will press it to a vote.
Question put, That the amendment be made.
The Committee proceeded to a Division.
Bilateral Loan to Ireland
Mark Hoban Excerpts(12 years, 7 months ago)
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The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Mr Mark Hoban)
I would like to update the House on the loan to Ireland.
Ireland completed the fifth quarterly review of its International Monetary Fund and European Union programme of financial assistance on 1 March 2012, at which point the utilisation period for the third instalment of the UK bilateral loan began.
Upon request, the Treasury disbursed the third instalment of £403.37 million on 28 March 2012, with a maturity date of 30 September 2019.
The Treasury will provide a further report to Parliament in relation to Irish loans as required under the Loans to Ireland Act 2010 following the end of the reporting period on 31 March 2012. Last year, the Chancellor committed to reduce the interest rate on the bilateral loan while still covering the UK’s cost of funding. To ensure that Parliament has the most useful and up-to-date information, subject to it being feasible to do so, I will lay this report alongside the finalised details of the new interest rate in the coming weeks.
The Government believe that it is in our national interest that the Irish economy is successful and its banking system is stable. The Government continue to support Ireland’s efforts to improve its economic situation.
Financial Services Compensation Scheme
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The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Mr Mark Hoban)
HM Treasury and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) have agreed revised terms on the loans made by HM Treasury to the FSCS in 2008-09 in relation to the resolutions of Bradford and Bingley plc, Heritable Bank plc, Landsbanki Islands, Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander Ltd, and London Scottish Bank plc. The amount outstanding under these facilities is as follows: Bradford and Bingley £15.65 billion; Landsbanki £1billion; Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander £954 million; Heritable £149 million; and London Scottish £187 million.
With effect from 1 April 2012, the interest rate on these loans is 12-month LIBOR plus 100 basis points. This rate is subject to a floor equal to the Government’s own cost of borrowing as represented by the gilt rate over an equivalent duration to the projected repayment period on the relevant loan.
FSCS and HM Treasury have agreed the period of the loans will reflect the expected timetable for FSCS to realise assets from the estates of Bradford and Bingley and the other failed banks. FSCS expects to receive full repayment of the debt owed to it by Bradford and Bingley as the residual assets of the bank are wound up. The estates of the other failed banks might not repay in full the principal owed by FSCS to HM Treasury. Where this occurs FSCS expects to levy the deposit taking sector for the balance of the principal on these loans.
There will be an annual cap on the amount of interest the industry will have to pay through FSCS levies. This cap will be set on the advice of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) (and in due course the Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA)) and will take into account other FSCS and similar commitments. Any interest charges exceeding the annual cap will be capitalised and repaid from levies on deposit-takers.
FSCS and HM Treasury have agreed that the terms of the agreements will be reviewed every three years in the light of market conditions and of actual repayments from the estates of the failed banks.
UK Convergence Programme
Mark Hoban Excerpts(12 years, 8 months ago)
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The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Mr Mark Hoban)
Section 5 of the European Communities (Amendment) Act 1993 requires the Government to report to Parliament for their approval an assessment of the UK’s medium-term economic and budgetary position. This assessment comprises the Budget report and the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR’s) economic and fiscal outlook.
This then forms the basis of the UK’s convergence programme, which is therefore based entirely on information already presented to Parliament. The UK is obliged to submit a convergence programme annually to the European Commission under article 121 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (the “Lisbon” treaty).
Article 121, along with article 126, is the legal basis for the stability and growth pact, which is the co-ordination mechanism for EU fiscal policies and requires member states to avoid excessive Government deficits. Although the UK is bound by the stability and growth pact, by virtue of its protocol to the treaty opting out of the euro, it is only required to “endeavour to avoid” excessive deficits.
Subject to the progress of parliamentary business, debates are expected to be scheduled in both houses before the end of April in order for both Houses to approve this assessment before the convergence programme is submitted to the Commission. While the convergence programme itself is not subject to parliamentary approval or amendment, copies will be made available to Members through the Vote Office and Printed Paper Office.
The Budget report and the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR’s) economic and fiscal outlook were laid on 21 March 2011. All of the information the convergence programme will contain has therefore already been published and made available to Members.
The UK’s convergence programme will be published in late April. Copies will be deposited in the Library of the House and the document will be available electronically via the HM Treasury website. It will be submitted to the EU by 30 April as required by the European Commission.
ECOFIN (13 March 2012)
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The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Mr Mark Hoban)
The Economic and Financial Affairs Council was held in Brussels on 13 March 2012. Ministers discussed the following items:
Financial Transaction Tax (FTT)—State of Play
The presidency presented a state of play note that listed a number of open issues that remained with the FTT proposals following the completion of the first technical reading. Ministers discussed these issues and agreed that more technical work and supplementary analysis by the Commission, including looking at possible alternatives, was necessary ahead of an orientation debate later in the Danish presidency. I reiterated that the UK position of opposition to the Commission proposals for an FTT remained unchanged.
Reinforcing and Deepening fiscal surveillance on Greece
The presidency introduced a recommendation for a Council decision addressed to Greece with a view to reinforcing and deepening fiscal surveillance and giving notice to Greece to take further measures judged necessary to remedy their excessive deficit. This recommendation was adopted by the Council.
Alert Mechanism Report
Ministers agreed Council conclusions on the Alert Mechanism Report. The Alert Mechanism Report is part of the new macro-economic imbalances procedure. The Commission will now begin finalising the in-depth reviews for those countries flagged as potentially being at risk of having or developing imbalances.
Follow-up to the European Council Meeting of 1-2 March 2012
The presidency briefly reminded Ministers of the March European Council conclusions and stressed the importance of translating those conclusions into action ahead of the June European Council.
Read Out from G20 Meeting of Finance Ministers and Governors (Mexico 25-26 February 2012)
The presidency briefly summarised the discussions at the G20 Finance Ministers’ meeting. The Commission noted that there seemed to be moderate optimism on the euro area position, although significant challenges remain. The Commission and European Central Bank also noted the importance of agreeing on reinforcement of euro area firewalls.
Implementation of the Stability and Growth Pact (Hungary)
The Commission presented a proposal to suspend €495 million of cohesion fund (CF) commitments to Hungary in 2013, following the Council decision on 24 January that Hungary has not taken effective action to sustainably correct its excessive Government deficit. After an extended discussion between Ministers, the proposal was adopted by the Council. Hungary was willing to accept the decision in the light of a statement in the minutes of the meeting making clear that Council would return to the matter at its meeting on 22 June, with a view to lifting the suspension if Hungary undertakes the necessary corrective measures. The Commission also presented a recommendation on measures to be taken to bring an end to the situation of excessive Government deficit in Hungary. This was agreed by Ministers.
Any Other Business: Informal ECOFIN
The presidency looked forward to the forthcoming informal ECOFIN in Copenhagen on the 30 and 31 March and set out some possible items for discussion, including the relationship and co-operation between the euro area and the EU as a whole.
Any Other Business: Discharge Procedure
The presidency debriefed the Council on the presentation to the Parliament on the 28 February of the Council’s recommendations on the discharge for the 2010 budget.
Eurogroup debrief
Ministers were debriefed over breakfast on the Eurogroup meeting of 12 March which had discussed the economic situation and the progress on deficit and debt sustainability efforts being made by a number of euro area member states. Informal consultations had also taken place over appointments to the European Central Bank board, head of the Eurogroup and head of the European stability mechanism (ESM).
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) President
Ministers discussed the forthcoming election of a new president for the EBRD. Two candidates had already been nominated, including the incumbent, and in the course of the discussion Poland confirmed they would be putting forward a candidate. I also informed ECOFIN that the UK would be putting a candidate forward. The Chancellor has since nominated Sir Suma Chakrabarti as the UK candidate.
Amendment of the Law
Mark Hoban Excerpts(12 years, 8 months ago)
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The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Mr Mark Hoban)
I am grateful for the opportunity to respond to this debate. Over the course of the last two days, debate has been wide-ranging and there have been 60 Back-Bench speeches. At the heart of the debate is the Government’s determination to restore the UK to prosperity. As hon. Members are already aware, it is because of the decisive action that this Government have taken since the June Budget of 2010 that we have secured and maintained the stability of the UK economy, sheltering it from the turbulence that undermines our nearest neighbours and securing record low market interest rates that support families and businesses across the UK. Stability is a vital precondition for growth, and this Budget builds on those solid foundations, safeguarding a stable economy, creating a fairer, more efficient and simpler tax system, and driving through the reforms to unleash the private sector enterprise and ambition that are critical to our recovery.
The Government are unashamedly committed to building a recovery through enterprise, private sector investment and exports. That is why John Cridland, the director general of the CBI, has said:
“The Chancellor has also painted a clearer vision of how the UK will earn its living in the future and, by seizing the opportunity to make sure our corporate tax system is more internationally competitive, he has sent a powerful signal to companies to invest, do business and create jobs in the UK.”
Kevin Green, the chief executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, said:
“Changes to corporation tax will encourage businesses to invest in their workforce. Plus, in continuing and speeding up year-on-year reductions the Chancellor creates certainty for businesses, which is so important in encouraging growth.”
This commitment to building a recovery through enterprise, private sector investment and export will help to unwind the imbalances and distortions that the previous Government built up, expanded and ignored, to everyone’s cost.
We will not return to growth fuelled by unsustainable debt, irresponsible spending and over-reliance on one sector and one region. I would have thought that the hon. Member for Hartlepool (Mr Wright) would at least have recognised that when Labour was in office, despite the many billions of pounds spent on regional development agencies, the gap between the north and the south widened, not narrowed. That is the legacy that they left to this country. Rather than growth being dependent on debt-fuelled expansion, as in the Labour days, Britain will earn its way in the world. While the previous Government let the economy slip into a stupor of spending and competitive decay, we are reversing that decline and revitalising our ambition.
Mr Hoban
We face a challenge. The OBR has said, on this Budget and the autumn statement, that the scale of the problem we inherited from the previous Government was bigger than everyone thought. The scale of the boom was bigger and the scale of the bust was bigger. That is the legacy that we are tackling.
Critical to realising our goal are the far-reaching tax reforms that the Chancellor announced yesterday. We are committed to creating the most competitive tax system in the G20—a tax system that supports work, encourages growth and keeps our most successful businesses here in the UK. While the previous Government increased taxes on small businesses, we have cut the tax rate on small companies to 20%; while the previous Government wanted to increase national insurance on jobs, we have cut it; and while the previous Government sat idle as our competitiveness drained away, we have already taken action to reduce the headline rate of corporation tax to 23% by 2014, cutting one of the most important and growth-impeding taxes there is.
As the Chancellor announced yesterday, we are going even further by cutting the rate of corporation tax to 22% by 2014—a headline rate of corporation tax dramatically lower than that of our competitors. It is the lowest in the G7 and the fourth lowest in the G20. It is a sign that we are open for business, an invitation for investment and a spur for prosperity and job creation across the economy. That is also why we are cutting the 50p rate of income tax—a rate higher than in the US, France, Italy and Germany, and a rate that damaged our competitiveness while raising nothing in additional revenue. From April next year, the top rate of tax will be 45%, which will restore our competitiveness and galvanise our private sector.
I turn briefly to what the Government are doing to help protect pensioners. I want to make it clear that the Government have taken action to help pensioners. We have taken action to protect the winter fuel allowance, free prescriptions and eye testing, free television licences and free bus passes, and our triple lock on state pension uprating means that the basic state pension is £120 a year higher than it would have been had the previous Government remained in office. The triple lock means that from next month, the state pension will increase by an extra £5.30 a week—in cash terms, the biggest increase in the state pension that we have seen. We are freezing the age-related allowance in cash terms, but no pensioner will pay more in tax. This measure simplifies the tax system, moving everyone towards a simple tax system, where everyone has the same allowance. Even taking into account the change in age-related allowances, everyone will be better off as a consequence of the increase in the basic state pension.
However, there are other things that we need to do to secure future economic growth. As a number of my hon. Friends have said, we need to lift the layers of stifling bureaucracy that serve to suffocate growth. For too long, businesses have been trapped by a web of bureaucratic cynicism and nimbyism. If we want our most innovative and entrepreneurial businesses to lead our economic recovery, we have to match their can-do attitude. That is why the Budget announced a fundamental overhaul of the planning system, replacing 1,000 pages of guidance with just 50, and introducing a presumption in favour of sustainable development and a new planning guarantee, so that no decision should take more than 12 months, including appeals.
However, if businesses are to seize the opportunities to grow, we have to ensure that they have the finance they need to feed their ambition. If we want businesses to take the risk to invest, hire new workers and take a leap into the export market, we need to ensure that they have access to finance. In particular, it is critical that we support smaller businesses, which provide more than 50% of private sector jobs and 30% of private sector investment and have the potential to become the global leaders of tomorrow. That is why the Chancellor launched the national loan guarantee scheme earlier this week, to give smaller businesses with a turnover of up to £50 million access to cheaper loans. Through the scheme, the Government will provide guarantees on unsecured bank borrowing, enabling banks to borrow at a cheaper rate and pass on the full benefit to their customers. We have provided £5 billion of guarantees in the initial phase, with up to £20 billion of guarantees available in total.
Mr Hoban
It is this Government’s deficit-reduction strategy that has earned this country market credibility and low interest rates, and it is this Government who are ensuring that the full benefits of those low interest rates are passed on to businesses across the UK. Barclays, Santander, Lloyds and the Royal Bank of Scotland are already participating in the scheme—a new bank, Aldermore, has agreed to join in principle—helping thousands of small businesses across the UK. However, in addition to the national loan guarantee scheme, we are trying to broaden the range of sources of finance available to new businesses and tackle some of the issues in supply-chain financing, while also ensuring that other sources of finance are available to businesses. That is why we have launched the business finance partnership. I was delighted to see a large number of people coming forward to take part in the programme and ensure that more money is available to invest in small businesses. That is an important change to ensure that businesses are in a position to take advantage of the opportunities before us today.
Mr Hoban
It is this Government who are committed to making Britain the best place to start, grow and finance a business. It is this Government who are putting the ingenuity, innovation and enterprise of people and businesses at the heart of our recovery. This Government are releasing our ambitions for a private sector recovery, through a competitive top rate of tax, one of the lowest rates of business tax in the world, an overhaul of cumbersome planning rules and bold action to ensure access to finance for businesses to lead investment and job creation across the country.
Mr Hoban
Opposition Members had plenty of time to make their arguments. They should take responsibility for the problems that this country is having to deal with. They left behind the deficit that this Government are sorting out. They left behind an economy that needs repairing and restoring. It is this Government who will ensure that the British economy will earn its way out of its problems.
Debt and Reserves Management Report
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The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Mr Mark Hoban)
The “Debt and Reserves Management Report 2012-13” is being published today. Copies are available in the Libraries of both Houses.