New Clause 16 - Regulators’ immunity from civil damages action

Part of Financial Services and Markets Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 2:30 pm on 3 November 2022.

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Photo of Shaun Bailey Shaun Bailey Conservative, West Bromwich West 2:30, 3 November 2022

I fear I will probably repeat what my hon. Friends have just articulated so clearly. I agree that the principle of the new clause, as articulated by the hon. Member for West Dunbartonshire, is interesting. As my hon. Friend the Member for Hastings and Rye pointed out, many have been calling for such action for some time. Clearly, the running theme of these contributions, which was expertly advanced by my hon. Friend the Member for Wimbledon, is how we tighten things up so that the system operates effectively.

I do not know whether the new clause, as drafted, necessarily does that, but there is a basis here on which to do some of the important work that needs to be done. It feels like there is consensus about what the new clause attempts to do, which is effectively to tell the FCA that, where it is responsible because it has not acted in the way it should, there needs to be a right of recourse. As Members on both sides of the Committee have said, we are talking not just about the higher end of investment, but about individuals who have put in significant amounts—often their life savings. They feel the impact very profoundly, so it is right that they feel there should be some recourse.

Although I fear I may repeat what some hon. Members have said, the principle we are discussing is interesting. The new clause raises some important issues, which I hope the Minister will take away. We just need to explore further how we tighten up the operational element, before these proposals are taken forward. However, new clause 16 does raise an important issue, which I hope the Minister will continue to explore.