Clause 6 - Statements to be provided in relation to fixed-sum credit agreements
Consumer Credit Bill
9:30 am
Gerry Sutcliffe (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Employment Relations and Consumer Affairs), Department of Trade and Industry; Bradford South, Labour)
I do not disagree with my right hon. Friend. That idea is at the heart of what we are trying to achieve with the Bill. Most lenders act honourably when giving information to consumers and make sure that people know what they are letting themselves in for with such agreements.
Alongside the Bill, there are issues of consumer education and support, including debt advice or money advice . Through the financial inclusion fund, £45 million will be made available to increase the awareness of such issues. I agree with my right hon. Friend that the people who get themselves into the most difficulty need support at the earliest stage. They need to be made aware of the difficulties that they will face should they not be able to make the repayments on what may be considered to be a small debt, so that they do not get into a cycle of problems that makes matters worse. We are committed to ensuring that we protect the vulnerable consumer, but we must strike a balance, because if small lenders cannot stand the administrative burden, the product will be removed and the very people whom my right hon. Friend wants to see supported and able to get credit will not get it.
My hon. Friend the Member for Ochil and South Perthshire has made his point in his amendment. We think that we will achieve that through the Bill, through the powers of the Office of Fair Trading and through responsible lending, about which the Committee feels strongly and to which we will return later in our deliberations. I hope that he will withdraw his probing amendment and accept the assurance that the very people whom he is trying to protect will be protected in the later clauses that we shall discuss during the passage of the Bill.