Clause 4 - Exemption relating to businesses
Consumer Credit Bill
10:00 am
Mr Laurence Robertson (Shadow Minister, Economic Affairs; Tewkesbury, Conservative)
Thank you, Sir John. I should just remind the Committee that that was meant to be an intervention from the Minister rather than a speech, but it is not necessary for me to move the amendments; we have not yet reached that position.
I am not persuaded that we should not consider what I am saying simply because it is not in the 1974 Act and that it would change the 1974 Act. The Bill is about changing the 1974 Act, so I do not think that that is a valid reason; otherwise we would never change anything in this place. I do not accept that there is a huge leap from becoming a sole trader to becoming a single director or one of two or three directors of a limited company. I am not persuaded that we should go down this route; however, the Minister has said that he will look at it again. I do not think that it is just about definition. It is a little bit more than that; it is about practicalities. However, the Minister said that he would have look at it again, and my experience of working with the Minister tells me that he will look at it very seriously indeed.
Question put and agreed to.
Clause 4 ordered to stand part of the Bill.