New Clause 16 - Regulators’ immunity from civil damages action

Part of Financial Services and Markets Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 2:45 pm on 3 November 2022.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Andrew Griffith Andrew Griffith The Economic Secretary to the Treasury 2:45, 3 November 2022

I will be brief in responding. The hon. Members for Glenrothes and for West Dunbartonshire raised an important issue, and I hear echoes of it from hon. Members who have often been involved in helping their constituents to seek redress. I will choose my words carefully, because I have done only some preliminary examination of how immunity does and does not work. How the common law—the rights of appeal and the establishment of negligence—could be applied to the FCA is something that I am happy to go away and consider and to take advice on. Right now, if hon. Members will forgive me, I will choose my words carefully and say that there may be something here. We have looked a number of times at the different interlocking roles of Parliament and regulators in the Bill. The new Clause would introduce a third axis, which is the power of the law of negligence.

I do not know whether the hon. Member for West Dunbartonshire wishes to put the new clause to a vote, but I would ask him to desist from doing so. However, I reassure him that he has planted the seed of the thought that I believe he was hoping to with the new clause. I will take it away to see whether it is worthy of consideration and whether there is a practical way of achieving it, and of course listen to the views of the FCA about how it thinks this would modify its conduct and behaviour and the position of consumers, which is ultimately what the regulatory regime seeks to address.

Clause

A parliamentary bill is divided into sections called clauses.

Printed in the margin next to each clause is a brief explanatory `side-note' giving details of what the effect of the clause will be.

During the committee stage of a bill, MPs examine these clauses in detail and may introduce new clauses of their own or table amendments to the existing clauses.

When a bill becomes an Act of Parliament, clauses become known as sections.

clause

A parliamentary bill is divided into sections called clauses.

Printed in the margin next to each clause is a brief explanatory `side-note' giving details of what the effect of the clause will be.

During the committee stage of a bill, MPs examine these clauses in detail and may introduce new clauses of their own or table amendments to the existing clauses.

When a bill becomes an Act of Parliament, clauses become known as sections.