Baroness Lawlor (Con)

My Lords, I support my noble friend Lady Neville-Rolfe’s amendment, which would leave out Clause 3. I very much agree with the noble, Lord Vaux, and other noble Lords who have spoken. I support these amendments on constitutional grounds, because of the importance of the separation of powers and the role of Parliament in checking executive power, as my noble friend Lord Massey mentioned. How can we hold the Government to account if we have no knowledge of the powers proposed? Clause 3 allows the Treasury the power to make any regulations it considers appropriate. We have no knowledge of what they are. Clause 3 also gives the Treasury power to delegate powers to the FCA. It allows the FCA to “make rules”, “amend an Act of Parliament” or “make different provision for different purposes”. There are many concerns about the regulators. I will mention two. First, the regulators do not supervise or explore predictably in accordance with their own rules. You will find different interpretations given to their rules in their rulings. We must ensure that their decisions are consistent between firms which operate businesses of similar sizes. Secondly, formal decisions by the regulators do not necessarily include sufficient explanation to serve as precedents to allow the application of the relevant rules. I am very pleased to welcome the Minister to the Front Bench and to say how much we miss the noble Lord, Lord Stockwood, but I wish the Minister well. It is on constitutional grounds that I ask him to think very carefully about these amendments.