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Financial Services Bill

I should make my position clear. I do not think that my noble friend’s amendment goes far enough, because it leaves the Treasury with a veto on who is asked to get involved in this consultation. I do not accept that a complete repository of wisdom is held on all these matters by the FSA and the Bank of England. People such as the noble Lord, Lord Desai, may well have something to contribute to the whole question of financial stability and he should have the opportunity to make his views known. It is a mistake merely to restrict the consultation to this small number of people. The reason why I do not think that my noble friend’s amendment has gone far enough is that the Treasury would be under no compulsion to ask anyone else to be involved in the consultation, and I think that they should be.