Member

Clearly, if Ministers have come to your Lordships’ House expecting us to sign this blank cheque, they must have some idea how much they are intending to spend on the regulator, notwithstanding the detailed letter that the Minister sent to my noble friend earlier, which no doubt he will discuss should he speak on this group. Can the Minister tell us roughly what level of financial assistance she and other Ministers currently expect to give to the new regulator over this Parliament? It is not really acceptable to write in a letter that they have no idea what the cost of the regulator will be. From her point of view as a Minister, I understand that she always has the Treasury breathing down her neck, which is difficult; she does not want to be a hostage to fortune. Nevertheless, we are being asked to vote through a very wide-ranging enabling provision. On that basis, it is incumbent on her at least to come up with a figure that it might likely be.