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Banking Bill

Amendment No. 125 seeks to leave out Clause 75(8). Subsection (8) proposes that orders can be made under this clause without the need for them to be laid before Parliament for 28 days, not counting periods of dissolution, prorogation and adjournment. To deal with difficult and unforeseen circumstances, Clause 75 seeks immense powers, including the power to change laws as set out in subsection (1), and to amend them retrospectively, as we have just been discussing. Whatever one’s views of these powers, the only way in which they could possibly be acceptable is if they have to be approved by Parliament. It is unacceptable that these immense powers should be used without the consent of Parliament. If an order is made under Clause 8 at the beginning of the Summer Recess, there will be no need for it to be considered by Parliament for nearly four months. That is bad enough, but subsection (8)(d) allows a new order to be made if an order under this legislation lapses. As far as I can see, there will be nothing to stop new orders being made ad infinitum, thereby making a nonsense of the requirement for parliamentary approval. Furthermore, paragraph (c) provides that any action taken under an order which is not subsequently approved by Parliament is not invalidated. In fact, the approval or disapproval of Parliament would no longer matter. Power would have been transferred from Parliament to the Executive. I hope that that is not the Government’s intention, and I have no doubt that the Minister can confirm the position. However, it is what the proposed legislation says that matters, as it is the legislation that provides the criteria for government action. If the criteria were simply the comments made by Ministers in Hansard, then incidents such as an old man being arrested for intervening at a Labour Party conference or a lady being prevented from reading out the names of the fallen in Iraq would never have occurred. There are many other examples of the misuse of legislation. I urge the Minister to consider most carefully this amendment, so that we do not fall into the trap of providing a future unknown Government with the power to override Parliament and create a form of totalitarian society. Aside from the constitutional issue, subsection (8) adds to the difficulties of banks being able to enjoy certainty in their legal arrangements. If the Treasury can make an order without the consent of Parliament, it will almost certainly mean that any legal opinion given to banks in the course of their business will have to be qualified. That qualification may well mean that this Committee’s good work on enabling set-off and netting arrangements, so that a clean legal opinion can be given, has been wasted. I beg to move.