Lord Kingsland: I am giving way to the noble Lord, Lord Alexander.
Lord Kingsland: It was my intention in speaking after the noble Lord, Lord Newby, to respond, as the noble Lord did in respect of his amendments, to those noble Lords who spoke to my amendment, and then to withdraw it. The reason I did not complete the procedure was that I felt a frosty wind from behind me and my noble friend Lord Alexander got to his feet. Therefore, before I could say the fatal words, he...
Lord Kingsland: Everything I wanted to say in relation to my amendment in the group has been said by the noble Lords, Lord Sharman and Lord Eatwell. They will be relieved to know that I have no intention of repeating it. I understand that the FSA believes that the memorandum of understanding between the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Governor of the Bank of England and the head of the FSA is the...
Lord Kingsland: I rise to speak to my Amendments Nos. 22 to 24. They are precisely on the point raised by my noble and learned friend Lord Fraser of Carmyllie and my noble friend Lord Stewartby. Sub-paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of paragraph 4(3) all stipulate rather minor activities of the committee. They are important to certain individuals, but in terms of the overall responsibilities they are in a minor...
Lord Kingsland: moved Amendment No. 25: Page 218, line 40, leave out ("Authority") and insert ("investigator").
Lord Kingsland: This group of amendments concerns the role of the investigator. The amendments that we have tabled deal with two issues. The first concerns to whom the complaints should be made. Under the Bill, the complaints against the authority are to be made to the authority. If the authority then considers a complaint to be serious, it passes it on to the investigator. Our amendments question the wisdom...
Lord Kingsland: In my opening remarks, I referred to that document--I described it as a "memorandum of understanding"--when I talked about the criteria that the FSA said it would apply when making ex gratia payments. Perhaps the Minister would be kind enough to respond to the points I made in that regard. This is not a criticism of the Minister; it is simply an observation. I do not remember him responding...
Lord Kingsland: The Minister expressed the view that he hoped that we would move with increasing momentum after the first amendment. I have been happy to oblige.
Lord Kingsland: I am obliged to the Minister. I shall now respond briefly to both groups. On the question of the independence of the investigator and the appropriate route for complaints to take, the proper context in which to look at that question is the statutory immunity granted to the authority at a later stage in the schedule. As the noble Lord is aware, excluding bad faith and the effect of the...
Lord Kingsland: I should like to deal with Amendment No. 35 which is another amendment in the group that the Committee is considering. That amendment seeks to add two further categories to paragraph 10(2) of Schedule 1. The first category would be reports by the practitioner panel and the consumer panel. The value of those reports would be greatly enhanced if the Minister were to accept some later amendments...
Lord Kingsland: On reflection, I think that our Amendment No. 38, which is also in the group, is not as good as that tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Newby. Therefore, I am happy to associate us with everything that he said. In a sense, these are probing amendments, because I suspect that the Minister will tell the Committee that he is not in a position to commit your Lordships' House one way or the other on a...
Lord Kingsland: moved Amendment No. 40: Page 221, line 43, leave out ("incidental purpose") and insert ("purpose which is necessary or desirable for carrying out its functions").
Lord Kingsland: This amendment seeks at page 221, line 43 to leave out the expression "incidental purpose" and insert "purpose which is necessary or desirable for carrying out its functions". As the Committee is no doubt aware, under paragraph 17(1) "The Authority may make rules providing for the payment to it of such fees" by the regulated community "as it considers will ... enable it-- (a) to meet expenses...
Lord Kingsland: I am not as satisfied as I should like to be with the Minister's reply, but I believe that he has indicated some sympathy with the views expressed by my noble friend Lord Jenkin. In view of that, I know that he will be leaving your Lordships' House determined to look very carefully at the amendment which we have tabled to make absolutely sure that he has not got it wrong. I beg leave to...
Lord Kingsland: In view of what many noble Lords have said about these amendments--three out of four of which are tabled in my name--I feel that I ought to be making my contribution from the Opposition Front Bench under an assumed name, or at least wearing a false beard. I should like to start by saying how profoundly I disagree with the contribution of the noble Lord, Lord Burns. He has made such a...
Lord Kingsland: I thank the noble Lord, Lord Burns, for that clarification which raises a series of issues which I believe will be dealt with later in the Bill. My amendments focus on the position of the regulated party. These amendments amount to three changes to paragraph 19(3) of Part IV of Schedule 1 to the Bill. The first seeks to introduce the concept of recklessness into paragraph 19(3)(a), which is,...
Lord Kingsland: I obviously did not explain myself as clearly as I thought I had done. In my opening remarks I said to the noble Lord, Lord Burns, how much I regretted the fact that he felt that the FSA would be inhibited by having to face actions for negligence. I pointed out a number of examples where others who face those actions for negligence do not appear to suffer the same inhibitions. I meant to...
Lord Kingsland: moved Amendment No. 45: Page 1, line 19, at end insert ("; and ( ) which does not unnecessarily impair the competitive position of the United Kingdom").
Lord Kingsland: The amendment seeks to add a paragraph to Clause 2(1). The wording of the amendment is similar to that of Clause 2(3)(e), referring to, "the international character of financial services and markets and the desirability of maintaining the competitive position of the United Kingdom". Essentially the Opposition seek to lift paragraph (e) of Clause 2(3) and add it to Clause 1 as a new paragraph...
Lord Kingsland: I am most grateful to the noble Lord for giving way. He will see that the regulatory objectives have their initial status under subsection (1). Therefore, competitiveness is not raised above the regulatory objectives, but is given equal status.