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Proceeding contribution from Baroness Noakes (Conservative) in the House of Lords on Monday, 2 February 2009. It occurred during Debate on bill on Banking Bill.


Banking Bill

My Lords, I thought that the Minister would disappoint me completely in his extensive reply, in which he raised a number of points. The noble Lord, Lord Newby, is right about the code of practice. There is not a legal requirement; there is a requirement only to have regard to the code. We know that the Government use that formulation to give themselves flexibility and that it creates not much more than an indication of what might be followed. If the code were legally binding, that might be a different issue, but it is not. In addition, as the noble Lord, Lord Newby, pointed out, the Bill allows the code to be changed at will. The Government cannot have it one way, for flexibility and all the other reasons, but then try to use that as an excuse for not having something in the Bill. The Minister made much of the issues concerning the BBA. I would not have raised this issue had I not thought it reasonable to do so, because while there is a potential cost on the banking industry and, therefore, consumers, regarding the way the FSA is taking the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, the issues that I have raised go beyond that, because they are genuinely about signalling what is important. While I completely agree that getting your money back is important, one must strive to achieve continuity of banking services in any special resolution regime. That may not always be possible in every case, but those should be the objectives. I am grateful to the Minister for agreeing to take this away. I hope that he will table something for Third Reading, because if he does not, I shall bring back my amendment. On that basis, I beg leave to withdraw. Amendment 3 withdrawn.


Secondary information

Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
707 c491-2 
Session
2008-09
Chamber / Committee
House of Lords chamber
Subjects
Disclosure of information Compensation Codes of practice Consumers Accountability Directors Assets Bank services Banks Competition Delegated legislation Advisory services Building societies Bank of England Finance Human rights EU law Financial institutions Insolvency Government assistance Financial Services Authority Private sector Protection Pay Public appointments Pensions Public interest Property transfer Mergers Parliamentary scrutiny Pension funds Pension rights Nationalisation Regulation Shares Valuation Taxation Shareholders Treasury UK Financial Investments Financial Services Compensation Scheme Northern Rock Bradford and Bingley Hampton, Philip
Legislation
Banking Bill 2007-08 to 2008-09
Link
View this Proceeding contribution on www.publications.parliament.uk