Clause 186
Banking Bill
5:15 pm
David Gauke (Shadow Minister, Treasury; South West Hertfordshire, Conservative)
I shall make just two points about the clause. First, I am sure the Minister would not want us to have a system in place that discourages good people from being involved in the operation of payment systems, so if he can provide some comfort to the Committee about how the powers under clause 186 will operate, it will be helpful. The powers are quite widely drawn and there is concern that that might discourage people from operating in that area—although I also note that similar provisions exist with regard to approved persons within FSA-regulated entities as a whole.
Secondly, I said to the Minister this morning that clause 177 is broadly defined and that the Bank of England will be able to give a direction to the operator of a recognised inter-bank payment system to take specified action and that that power could be used against particular individuals. The Minister referred me to clause 186 and was right to do so, but considering clause 177 in isolation, it seems to be broad enough to take into account various elements of clause 186. Therefore, in the context of clause 186, I ask again if the Minister can confirm that clause 177 will not be used as a mechanism for prohibiting individuals and that, as far as the treatment of individuals is concerned, that will be dealt with under clause 186. If he cannot confirm that, perhaps he will elaborate on why that is the case.