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Banking Bill

I apologise for not being here for the earlier part of the Committee. Someone conspired to have the Economic Affairs Committee sitting at the same time. I want to follow up from a slightly different angle the point made by the noble Lord. Clause 4(3) states: "““For the purpose of this section the relevant authorities are— (a) the Treasury, (b) the FSA, and (c) the Bank of England””." The Explanatory Notes on the background to the Bill state that a tripartite structure for overseeing the UK financial system has been created with distinct roles for the Treasury, the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority. I do not want to digress into a Second Reading debate but it would be helpful before agreeing the clause if we could have an answer to the question of who is in charge. It is clear from recent events that no one has been in charge, and while the later clauses make provision for particular activities to be carried out by particular parties, and for consultation, it is not clear what will happen if consultation results in disagreement. Will the Minister give us some comfort? It is not the same point but it echoes the one made by the Minister’s noble friend Lord Barnett. It is all very well saying that the relevant authorities consist of three groups but it would be nice to know who is in charge and who is driving the process.