Clause 28 - Applications for standard licences
Consumer Credit Bill
10:30 am
Charles Hendry (Shadow Minister, Trade & Industry; Wealden, Conservative)
That is quite disturbing. It means that we expect the Bill to be on the statute book for 30 years because it is not a natural area of business for Governments to come tumbling back to for reconsideration. The Minister says that two types of business have developed in the past 30 years, which means that it is quite possible that two significant areas of business to emerge in the next 30 years will be unregulated. Surely it is better to allow for that possibility in regulation or to give the OFT the power to add to that list of businesses so that we ensure that all new types of business are regulated as we want.