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Consumer Credit Bill

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that intervention. He makes an interesting point. I hope that the Minister was listening because he needs to provide the House with clarification on that point. The concerns regarding the new provision—although it is widely welcomed—are about definition. We have heard that the hon. Member for Hertford and Stortford wants more prescription in the Bill. At least, he did at times, but in his reply to the hon. Member for Angus (Mr. Weir) he seemed to agree with the concern about being over-prescriptive. There is always a balance to be struck in legislation. The Government have sought to strike it by allowing the OFT to issue guidance. That is a settled view and I am not sure whether it will change as a result of tonight’s debate. It is critical, in terms of the implementation of the Bill, that the guidance is timely and follows full and thorough consultation with the industry. If the Minister says one thing in reply to my remarks, I hope that it will be that he will use every power that is open to him—I know that he does not have any strict legislative powers to command the OFT, given that it is an independent body under the Enterprise Act 2002—to ensure that the OFT hears loud and clear that this House wants to ensure that the consultation is comprehensive, thorough and engages with all the different players in the industry. It is important that the OFT is clear, as it plans ahead, in its consultation and in publishing the final guidance, because the industry needs to invest in IT systems. It needs to design, build, test and implement them. Although the Department of Trade and Industry has given an indicative timetable, as the hon. Member for Hertford and Stortford said, the industry wants greater clarity on that. The quicker the Minister and the OFT can provide that, the better. I hope that the Minister can say something on that tonight. I would also like the Minister to be clearer about the role of future court judgments. Clearly, the definitions of irresponsible lending are ultimately testable in the courts. Although the OFT guidance will be the basis on which IT systems are implemented and new practices are developed, there could be a case in the courts in 12 to 18 months, or in two years, that overrides the OFT’s guidance and changes the whole system.