---

Banking Bill (Money)

That was not the point I was making at all. I was responding to comments from right hon. and hon. Members about the role of the media, and I was pointing out that that role could be both good and bad. It can be good in respect of the level of scrutiny brought to proceedings, but it can sometimes be bad and damaging if unwarranted speculation creates problems in the economy. Let me move on to the three main areas that I outlined earlier. First, I shall deal with the extension of statutory cover to expenditure on schemes—principally the Department for Communities and Local Government scheme to support home owners' mortgages and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform's working capital scheme. Members are right to point out that amendments 75 to 80 cover the authority to spend in those areas. We think it right not only that we recapitalise the banks, but that other action be taken to help to support the economy in these difficult times. That is why it is important to support home owners who are facing difficulty paying their mortgages and why it is fundamentally right to ensure that UK companies maintain good levels of working capital. What we are trying to achieve through the working capital scheme is to agree a portfolio of companies with each of the major banks that are UK-based and for which we will provide a 50 per cent. guarantee of credit, which will stimulate the further credit lending that the UK economy needs at this time. The hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban) asked a specific question about amendment 79, particularly about widening the scope. Let us be clear: the amendment allows Departments other than the Treasury to run schemes that can benefit banks' customers, but there must be some connection with banks or financial institutions. It is thus wider, but it cannot support schemes that are purely for non-financial institutions; in that respect, it is limited, but it allows home owners' mortgage support and the working capital scheme. That is the intention behind the provisions.