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Banking Bill (Money)

My right hon. Friend makes an important point. My interpretation is that although at the time the Government might decide for reasons of confidentiality not to lay a report before Parliament, that would be swept up in what was Lords amendment 83, which we pressed in the Lords. I hope that would be covered in the new amendment tabled by the Government in lieu, so there would be a report. It may not be as timely as we would like, but there would be reporting at six-monthly intervals. The Minister made an important point about the balance to be struck between confidentiality and public scrutiny. Clearly, one of the issues in relation to Northern Rock was that the transparency of information provided was a barrier to giving covert assistance to Northern Rock. We need to have that debate in mind, but I hope that the six-monthly reporting will act as a sweeper, so to speak, to pick up all those instances where financial assistance has been given but no report has been laid before Parliament. When the Government decided, in the first phase of the bank bail-out, to take stakes in RBS, what was then Lloyds TSB and HBOS, we had a debate on the Floor of the House in which the Financial Secretary to the Treasury and my hon. Friends the Members for South-West Hertfordshire (Mr. Gauke) and for Wellingborough participated. Specific approval was given for an estimate to pay for that investment. Will we have the same opportunity to vote on the elements set out in the second bail-out package? It was not clear from the Minister's remarks whether we would have a specific vote on those elements, or whether they would go through the normal estimates procedure, where individual items are not voted on. Not only have we seen the second phase of the bank bail-out, but money has been lent to the financial services compensation scheme in respect of the rescue of the Icelandic banks in the UK, and we should ensure that there is proper scrutiny in the House of that. I would welcome greater clarity from this Minister as to how items would be voted on and whether there would be stand-alone debates on the various aspects of financial assistance envisaged in Lords amendment 79. The Minister also drew the House's attention to the words ““too urgent”” in Lords amendment 81, for when there was a pressing need to provide money from the Consolidated Fund, the issue being whether money could be granted before there was a vote on it. He gave the specific example of there being a crisis during a recess and Ministers having to act urgently without the approval of the House. Will he confirm that when the House is sitting, the Government's first preference will be to go through the estimates procedure, rather than to rely on the powers set out in Lords amendment 81? Lords amendment 83 was tabled by my noble Friend Baroness Noakes and Lord Turnbull in the other place. One of the important themes in the debate is transparency and understanding the scale of the taxpayers' liability. We touched on that in different contexts during our debates on the Bill in this place. I felt at times that there was a bias towards secrecy as a way of enhancing financial stability, so I welcome the increased level of scrutiny that comes from the amendments made in the other place. It is important that the tripartite authorities are accountable to Parliament and others for the use of their powers under the Bill. The report envisaged in Lords amendment 83 went a long way towards increasing that transparency. It set out the requirement for a quarterly report to be made to Parliament on sums actually and potentially committed under the financial assistance powers in clauses 228 and 229. During our earlier debate on the money resolution, I set out a number of the schemes that the Government have announced in the past three or four months, and I have no intention of repeating them. Clearly, however, there is a range of schemes that involve significant financial commitments. I have talked about the asset protection scheme; one estimate this weekend suggested an amount of up to £400 billion. The Minister referred to the working capital scheme, and there is the scheme proposed by Sir James Crosby in relation to asset-backed securities. There is also the asset purchase facility, under which the Bank of England has been authorised to acquire commercial paper. So there is a range of schemes with significant price tags. It is important that taxpayers should understand the extent to which they are exposed to the financial assistance given under the schemes, and that Parliament and the taxpayer should hold the Government to account for the money involved in them. One of the points made in the other place was that the schemes are put forward by a range of Departments: the Treasury is responsible for some, the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform for others and the Department for Communities and Local Government for the homeowners' scheme. It is important that the Treasury acts as the focal point for drawing the schemes together and ensuring that a proper report is made to Parliament. When Lords amendment 83 was debated in the Lords, there was significant support from the Liberal Democrats, the Conservatives and a number of Cross Benchers. The majority of 35 in the vote on it demonstrated the strength of feeling about the welcome move to increase transparency. During the debate, Lord Davies of Oldham, speaking for the Government, opposed the amendment as he felt that it was unnecessary and that there were sufficient existing powers within the legislative programme to ensure that there was proper scrutiny. He prayed in aid the Exchequer and Audit Departments Act 1866 and the various Consolidation Acts and Appropriation Acts. Frankly, his arguments did not wash with the House of Lords; it did not feel that they would ensure sufficient transparency. Lords amendment 83 was backed so that there could be proper reporting of the amounts involved. In their amendment, my noble Friend Baroness Noakes and Lord Turnbull reflected some of the concerns that the Minister mentioned. They referred to summarising data so that individual obligations were not necessarily seen and pointed out that there may be situations where information could be withheld as a matter of public interest. What I take from the Minister's remarks is that the Government have listened to the well-argued points that were made in the other place. Lord Davies said that the current mechanisms of accountability are sufficient. Conservative Members would like the Government's conversion to the recognition that given the sums involved there must be greater transparency and accountability in the financial assistance that is given. We welcome the Treasury's willingness to be as open as possible in disclosing information on exposure, subject to the caveat in new subsection (4) in the Government's amendment. That represents a significant move by the Treasury and a recognition of the strength of the arguments made in the other place, and it is an important advance for transparency in how these matters are dealt with. Taxpayers have a right to know how much a bank bail-out is costing them. We therefore welcome the fact that the Government have tabled their amendment in lieu and we will not divide the House on it.