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Banking Bill

Clause 6: Code of practice: procedure Amendment 22 22: Clause 6, page 4, line 15, at end insert ““, and ( ) the Banking Liaison Panel referred to in section 10.”” I shall speak also to Amendment 23 in this group. Both amendments concern consultation on the code of practice required by Clause 6 before that code is issued. Amendment 22 requires the Treasury to consult the Banking Liaison Panel, which is constituted by Clause 10. The Minister will be aware that the panel has been welcomed by the financial community. Early feedback from the meetings of the panel’s forerunner, the expert liaison group, indicates that it is fulfilling a useful function. However, Clause 10 confines the role of the panel to advising on matters contained in secondary legislation. Although we shall debate the issue in the next amendment, no parliamentary approval is attached to the code of practice and, hence, there is no involvement of the panel. The Banking Liaison Panel was not in the Bill when it was introduced in another place. The Government introduced the panel by way of an amendment moved on the last day of Committee in another place. I suggest to the Minister that the exclusion of the panel from the Clause 6 consultation process was an oversight, and I invite him to agree to the panel’s inclusion by way of the amendment. While the involvement of the panel would be a wise addition to the development of the code of practice, it is incumbent on the Treasury to consult more widely than its inner circle—whether or not that circle includes the panel. Hence, Amendment 23 requires the Treasury to consult persons who have relevant knowledge of the matters contained in the code of practice. The Minister may well say that of course the Treasury will consult, as all good government departments do this in accordance with Cabinet Office guidance. However, we do not believe that it is wise to rely on informal and non-binding guidance where something is involved that is as important as the code will be for the banking industry. I freely acknowledge that the availability of the draft code during Committee in another place has meant that it has had wide exposure but good practice today cannot frank all future issues or revisions of the code, and those, not the current draft code in circulation, are the main focus of my amendment. I hope that the Minister will agree. I beg to move.