Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts (Con)

My Lords, I shall say a word in support of the noble Baroness, Lady Bowles, before we wave this Bill goodbye. The investment trust movement is a proven success story in this country but has been uniquely caught up in the PRIIP regulations. For three or four years we have been trying to find a way through that thicket. I appreciate that the noble Lord, Lord Livermore, and the Government have produced some temporary forbearance regulations that are now in effect, but that is only a quarter of a loaf. To rebuild the sector, we need new investment trusts, but no one will launch investment trusts with only temporary relief that might at any moment be withdrawn. Therefore, while of course the industry is grateful to the Government for what they have done, it is only a sticking plaster. The worrying aspect is that, now that we have forbearance relief, there will be no pressure on the regulators to make their mind up and the hitherto glacial progress will proceed even more slowly. I hope the Minister might take the noble Baroness’s Bill, stick it in his back pocket and say, “It has no commencement date but, if you don’t get on and sort your mind out, we’ll put a commencement date on it and bring it in”.