---

Sale of Student Loans Bill

We have had a fairly brief, but good, debate. Some of the contributions, including that of the hon. Member for Nottingham, South (Alan Simpson), were extremely good. I listened carefully to what the Minister said in response to my amendments, and I appreciate the patient way in which he has dealt with the many questions on the Bill from both sides of the House throughout this whole process. I am happy to accept his assurances on amendment No. 5. It appears that there will be sufficient parliamentary scrutiny, which was a key factor in my tabling that amendment. I am also happy to accept his assurances on amendments Nos. 6 and 8—I hope that I have got those numbers right. I do not feel, however, that the Minister has made a compelling case for improving the Bill in other respects. On amendment No. 7, I am not reassured that, 10 or 20 years down the track, another agent or person acting on behalf of a loan purchaser will give sufficient reassurance to those who have taken out loans. His response on amendment No. 11 was also insufficiently robust. I listened carefully to what the Minister said about it and although his intentions may be noble—I do not doubt his integrity for a second—it is not only a matter of his viewpoint, as other Ministers will succeed him. As the hon. Member for Nottingham, South said, the ministerial merry-go-round does indeed go round and round, so where the Minister sits today may not be where he sits in a month's or a year's time. It is therefore important to have some guarantee built into the Bill. The Minister also failed to reassure me about the Treasury's power in this respect. If £6.3 billion is bound up in the comprehensive spending review at a time when black clouds are gathering and the income from taxation may not be as high as the Chancellor hopes for, and given the increase in the power and influence of the Treasury in recent years, it may well push very hard to raise money through the sale of the loans. That may not offer the best value for money outcome for the country. I am not therefore going to press amendments Nos. 5, 6 or 8, but with your permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I intend to divide the House on amendments Nos. 7 and 11.