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Financial Services Bill

My Lords, earlier we had quite a discussion and expressed concern about the carve-up that has taken place in this wash-up. That was as a result of agreement between the Conservative and Labour Front Benches, and it was not, as we pointed out, just the Liberal Democrat Benches or the Cross Benches that were not involved, but also the Back Benches. The noble Lord, Lord Whitty, has very properly made his concern clear now. We are also concerned that all this section has been lost. As the noble Baroness says, we accept that it is complicated. I speak from my own experience of being asked for advice on things like the split-capital investment trust scandal. That was a shocking scandal, which, years ago, the FSA did not get to grips with properly. Clearly, one sometimes sees firms of solicitors which perhaps do not have the best interests of customers at heart and I have certainly said, "The odds do not look very good in this case". That is fairly topical. Only the other week, I had a letter from someone who had lost money in one of the former building societies which had been nationalised, asking whether he should join in the class action. Clearly, it is quite a complex situation, but we believe that consumers should have the right to seek redress and that it should be made easier. We are sympathetic with the general points made by the noble Lord, Lord Whitty, and we are sorry that all these clauses have been lost. Clause 18 agreed. Clauses 19 to 25 disagreed. Clause 26 : Consumer redress schemes Amendment 285 Clause 26 : Consumer redress schemes Amendment 285 Moved by