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Banking Bill

Amendment 164 would add a new subsection to Clause 185. I shall also speak to Amendments 165 and 167, which would amend Clauses 186 and 193 respectively. Under Clause 185, the Bank of England may issue principles, which I understand it already does in its informal oversight arrangements. The operators have to have regard to them when operating their systems. There is a requirement to consult the Treasury but no requirement to consult the interbank settlement players or indeed anyone else. My Amendment 164 would add that. Amendment 165 is in similar form in relation to the code of practice which may be issued under Clause 186. I hope that the Government agree that it is appropriate and necessary for the Bank to consult those who will be objects of those principles and codes. Amendment 167 would add a new category of compliance failure to Clause 193—the failure to have regard to the principles. This is a probing amendment to find out the status of the principles and the consequences of not following, or not having regard to, the principles. I am not convinced that a failure to have regard to principles should be sufficient to trigger things such as penalties, which are then provided for, but having said that, it is important to establish what happens if an interbank payment system does not have regard to the principles. What is the role of the principles in this legislation? I hope that the Minister can explain. I beg to move.