Clause 176
Banking Bill
12:30 pm
David Gauke (Shadow Minister, Treasury; South West Hertfordshire, Conservative)
The Minister has already outlined what clause 176 is about, which is the ability of the Bank of England to require an operator of a recognised inter-bank payment system to establish rules or to change the rules. I am simplifying a little. I again ask about time frame and consultation and the opportunity that an operator of a payment system will have to make representations to the Bank of England. I imagine there will be circumstances where the Bank of England will want to move very quickly with regard to system rules, although there may be times when these matters can be done in a co-operative way. I should be grateful for guidance from the Minister as to whether he envisages clause 176 being used in exceptional circumstances, where the Bank of England felt it necessary to impose rules on a payment system—if you like, forcing it on the operator, as opposed to reaching some agreement by dialogue. I know there have been instances under the non-statutory regime where the Bank of England has been able to reach an agreement by raising an eyebrow—in the manner of Sir Desmond Glazebrook of “Yes Minister” fame, as referred to earlier by my hon. Friend the Member for Wellingborough—and that that will be the way in which the Bank of England will seek to work, through dialogue and co-operation, rather than necessarily using the rules in clause 176 as a routine way of forcing payment systems to change their rules.