Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the activities of credit reference agencies benefit consumers.

Credit Reference Agencies (CRAs) are a key part of the consumer credit market and enable lenders to assess whether an individual has the ability to repay any credit that is offered.

Consumer credit regulation transferred from the Office of Fair Trading to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on 1 April 2014. As part of this transfer, the Government decided that, given their central role in helping to inform responsible lending decisions, CRAs should be regulated by the FCA. The Government has ensured that the FCA has robust powers to protect consumers and it has a broad enforcement toolkit to punish breaches of its rules; there is no limit on the fines it can levy.

In addition to being regulated by the FCA the Information Commissioner’s Office, an independent UK supervisory authority, oversees CRAs’ compliance with both the Data Protection Act 1998 and Freedom of Information Act 2000.