Clause 6
Dormant Bank and Building Society Accounts Bill [Lords]
12:00 pm
Mark Hoban (Shadow Minister, Treasury; Fareham, Conservative)
Given the consensus that we reached on the previous amendments, I do not have a problem with the removal of the clause, but removing subsection (2)(a) would be a retrograde step. That subsection requires the Treasury to
“lay before each House of Parliament...any directions issued to a reclaim fund under section 5(4) of this Act”.
The Government won the point about whether the positive method for directions should be followed, but now not only will there be no parliamentary scrutiny, but there will be no obligation on the Treasury to publish such directions, which makes the situation even worse.
If we remove the clause in its entirety, no one will know what directions the Treasury has published. The directions might be used in pressing emergencies—to use the Minister’s words—but it would be helpful if we knew when they had been issued to the reclaim fund. I am sure that this is an over-hasty deletion by the Government, not a deliberate step to keep directions shrouded in secrecy.