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Banking Bill

I am grateful to my noble friend Lord Hoyle for raising this important topic, albeit somewhat later than he would have hoped. I am also grateful to my noble friend Lord Clarke, who we all recognise to be a great authority on these issues and zealous on all occasions when he can put the case forward, as he did at this late hour. I want to be as positive as I can in response because I recognise the value of several of the points made by my noble friends. Let us not underestimate the role that the Post Office plays at present in providing banking facilities. Banking facilities from all the major banks are already available in post offices. The most recent FSA guide to basic bank accounts, published in autumn 2008, lists 17 providers whose basic bank accounts can be accessed at the Post Office. In addition, current accounts from Alliance & Leicester, Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Clydesdale Bank, Halifax, Nationwide, Lloyds TSB, Northern Bank and the Co-operative Bank are all accessible at the Post Office. Moreover, the Post Office provides a range of its own services, including its own-brand banking services. The noble Lord, Lord Oakeshott, said that he has no faith in any of the banks in Ireland or in the Irish Government guarantee. He may be justified in his warning, or he may, unlike Cassandra, be warning a great deal without validity. That is an issue for judgment. The Post Office has its own-brand banking services backed up by the Bank of Ireland, and depositors receive a guarantee of £100,000 backed by the Irish Government. The noble Lord, Lord Oakeshott, may have the confidence to say that that should be set at nought, but that is not the view of the British Government.