Clause 71 - Short title, commencement and extent
Consumer Credit Bill
5:45 pm

Charles Hendry (Shadow Minister, Trade & Industry; Wealden, Conservative)

It would not be appropriate for us to reach the end of the Bill without having a further point of clarification from the Minister, to which he will probably say, ''I hear where you're coming from'', and then explain why he did not really understand where I was coming from at all. There are a couple of points here, which I hope that he can clarify.

Subsection (2) says that different provisions can be introduced at different times, which is welcome, but can the Minister tell us what consultations he will now have with the industry to ensure that he fully understands which measures require a longer period before implementation? As he will appreciate, significant software changes will be required before the Bill can be enacted. It was some six years before all aspects of the last Act came into force. Clearly, we would not expect this to take six years, but there is a strong case for showing flexibility about different provisions coming into force at different times. I hope that the Minister will be prepared to have constructive discussions with the industry to ensure that that can be done properly.

Can the Minister also say a little about the Northern Irish aspects of the Bill? Normally, this would have been a devolved matter for the Assembly, but because it is suspended, that is not possible. What will happen when, we hope, the Northern Ireland Assembly is reformed? Will it pass its own legislation in this area, and will it pass its own amendments? How would that take place? We hope that the suspension of the Northern Ireland Assembly is only temporary. I can see that a furious amount of scribbling is going on, and I am going on so that the Minister can obtain more guidance before he has to respond. Can he tell us what will happen when the Assembly is brought back into being, and how can Northern Ireland adapt the Bill to the needs of the Province?

Gerry Sutcliffe (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Employment Relations and Consumer Affairs), Department of Trade and Industry; Bradford South, Labour)

I understand where the hon. Gentleman is coming from; he is heading in the right direction. I appreciate the points that he makes. He will know from the previous discussions on the regulations that flow from the White Paper that the industry had concerns about the need to change systems. The Government listened to those concerns as well as to those about the size of companies involved. Because the Bill has had widespread consensus and has been welcomed by all sides, it would only be fair to ensure that we did not impose burdens on business. Where there is a legitimate case for a timeframe to be put in place, we are happy to discuss that with the industry. Consultation will take place with all the interested stakeholders, ranging from small businesses and lenders to large companies that can accommodate change quicker than the rest. The hon. Gentleman will know that in the context of better regulation, the Government are required to ensure that all changes that take place are proportionate. Changes will be implemented after secondary legislation, and   following full discussion and consultation with all necessary stakeholders.

On the question of Northern Ireland, I agree with the hon. Gentleman that the sooner the situation can be resolved for the Assembly, the better; it is in the best interests of all concerned. On this Bill, Northern Ireland Ministers specifically requested that jurisdiction be extended to Northern Ireland. That will be reviewed following any subsequent change in the circumstances in Northern Ireland.

Given those explanations, I hope that members of the Committee will support this, the final, clause.

Question put and agreed to.

Clause 71 ordered to stand part of the Bill.