Baroness Finn (Con)

My Lords, as we draw this stage of the debate to a close, I want to reiterate our position that the powers granted in this part of the Bill are in principle necessary. I thank the Minister for her response, but necessity must always be accompanied by proportionality. That guiding principle sits at the heart of the contributions we on these Benches have made today and of how we will approach the remainder of Committee. We have sought throughout to ensure that the powers conferred by this legislation are tempered by appropriate safeguards and a clear sense of balance. In the pursuit of the legitimate and shared objective of tackling fraud against the public purse, we must be vigilant not to reach for powers that are unduly sweeping or risk unintended harm. Amendment 9 introduces the threshold of reasonableness before an information notice can be issued. This is about recognising that every power granted imposes a corresponding burden. We must ensure that those burdens are justified and not excessive, although I absolutely take the point the noble Lord, Lord Vaux, made about where the word “reasonably” should sit. We will look at this going forward. Amendment 10 would provide protection for individuals who may find themselves the subject of an information notice and who are not yet found liable, but are potentially facing premature consequences. The noble Baroness, Lady Kramer, raised similar concerns in this area. We want to prevent a situation in which an investigation becomes, in effect, a sentence. Banks and financial institutions in particular need clarity that a notice does not equate to guilt. Amendments 11 through 14 examine the review mechanism proposed in the Bill. We have asked the Government to justify the 10-day working compliance period in an information notice and whether this reflects realistic operational constraints for third parties. We have also sought to strengthen the ability of the recipient to initiate a review, to provide more time for that review to take place and to require that the Minister’s reasoning be clearly set out in writing. These are sensible and measured proposals that will promote accountability and reinforce the legitimacy of the process, as attested by the justice group in its review. Lastly, Amendments 15 and 16 address the handling of sensitive information. We propose that any data shared with the Minister under these powers be subject to tightly defined restrictions on further disclosure. This is a proportionate and necessary check, protecting individuals who may never ultimately face action while still allowing the Minister to undertake the task of fraud prevention. The underlying objectives of this Bill are ones that we all share. Our amendments have been crafted to ensure that these objectives are pursued in a way that is fair, balanced and lawful. They offer reasoned improvements, a reasonableness test, a clearer and fairer review process, and better protections for personal data. I hope they will be supported at a later stage, but for now I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.