Clause 8 - OFT to prepare information sheets on arrears and default
Consumer Credit Bill
11:00 am
Mr Gerry Sutcliffe (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Employment Relations, Competition and Consumers), Department of Trade and Industry; Bradford South, Labour)
By now it should come as no surprise to the hon. Member for Tewkesbury that we shall be resisting his amendments. That is not a personal attack on him, rather on the content of the amendments.
The requirement for the Office of Fair Trading to prepare and publish information sheets on arrears and default will be supported by regulation to be made by the Secretary of State. Those regulations will specify the types of information to be included, and the form of the sheets will be left to the OFT. The Government have left those decisions to be made in regulations to enable the OFT to decide the detail and to make further changes as and when necessary. It also enables the Government to develop that detail through consultation with consumers and the industry, and it ensures future-proofing. The matters mentioned in the amendments are able to be required in those statements. We are committed to consulting the industry and consumer groups on that detail and to ensuring that there is a balance between the types of information specified and the practical limitations of preparing useful information sheets. We will, therefore, resist the amendment. We will consult all interested parties on the types of information to be included in the OFT information sheets and ensure that they reflect a balance between the need to inform and the practicalities.
We resist amendment No. 19. The requirement for notices of sums in arrears in relation to fixed sum credit agreements is to be supported by regulations to be made by the Secretary of State. As I have said, the regulations will contain the content of the notices and their forms. Those matters are best left to regulations, which ensure detailed provisions for the form and content of the notices and which can be changed if necessary.
As I said in relation to the previous amendment, the Government will be able to consult with consumers and industry. The important point is that since the White Paper, and since the regulations that flowed from it came into force, the journey we have made is one that we have tried to undertake with stakeholders who represent all sides. That is beneficial, and we have set out the most appropriate way forward. We will consult further, and the issues raised by the hon. Member for Tewkesbury and the assurances for which he asked can be dealt with through those regulations. That is a better route.
On amendment No. 21, if we leave matters to regulation, we will move forward on important issues. The hon. Gentleman mentioned advice and redress options. Those will be required in the notices and are to be provided as part of the Office of Fair Trading information sheets, which will be required to be provided with a notice of sums in arrears and default notices. We will consult all interested parties. The notices need to be able to be changed to take account of future developments in the consumer credit market. That will not add the burden of excess paperwork to consumers or lenders, and it is appropriate to follow our suggested route. To follow the hon. Gentleman's route would create further burdens and would not be in the spirit of what we are trying to achieve. We ask him to withdraw his amendment.