Clause 5

Part of Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies and Credit Unions Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 4:30 pm on 10 June 2009.

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Photo of Ian Pearson Ian Pearson Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Economic and Business), Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform, Economic Secretary (Economic and Business), HM Treasury, Economic Secretary, HM Treasury 4:30, 10 June 2009

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship this afternoon, Mr. Cook, for what I imagine will be a brief but important sitting. I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Member for Croydon, North on his Bill, which the Government fully support.

The hon. Member for Fareham asked when the draft regulations would be published. The Treasury intends to consult fully before taking things further. The time scale is not yet set, but it will depend on the speed with which the Bill is enacted. The hon. Gentleman will be aware that we intend to take a legislative reform order through the House shortly, and we want the time scale to be appropriate.

To respond to my hon. Friend the Member for Broxtowe, Treasury consultation always takes place with appropriate people. There was extensive dialogue with the credit union movement and industrial and provident societies before and during the Bill’s gestation period, and I have every confidence that all whom need to be consulted will be consulted.

I must admit to being something of a linguistic conservative. I do not like the disappearance of words such as “industrial and provident societies”, just as I did not like the words “trade and industry” disappearing from the title of a Government Department. However, I am aware that there is a broad consensus that the term is outdated. The earlier clauses attracted no comment from me because they have the Government’s full support.