Lord Pitt-Watson (Lab)

I am unable to answer the noble Lord’s question; might I write to him with an answer? Amendment 20 was discussed in Committee and the Government’s position remains unchanged. As set out in Committee, a range of measures is already in place and further work is under way across government, regulators and industry. This includes firms using increasingly sophisticated fraud detection systems, confirmation of payee checks, work to improve data sharing between payment service providers and steps to ensure that fraud prevention is built into the design of future retail payments infrastructure. Turning now to Amendment 95, concerning the protection of intellectual property, I agree that weak protections can be a drag on competitiveness. On non-compete clauses, in particular, there are no provisions in the Employment Rights Act 2025 that would affect the use of non-compete clauses by financial services firms. The Government published a working paper on options for reform of non-compete clauses in employment contracts at Budget 2025. We are currently reviewing responses and will respond to the working paper in due course. The focus of the paper was on options for reform of non-compete clauses in employment contracts. It does not consider reform to intellectual property law or other means to protect confidential information. The Government understand that a well-designed, balanced intellectual property system offers confidence for business investors and consumers to contribute to growing our economy. Turning finally to Amendment 97 in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett, I recognise the continued threat posed to the UK by ransomware criminals. Following public consultation last year, this Government are already taking forward work through the Home Office to break the business model of ransomware and provide law enforcement with the information it needs to understand, investigate and disrupt ransomware activity. This includes proposals for a targeted ban on ransomware payments and mandatory reporting for businesses above a certain size. Taken together, the Government consider that the objectives of these amendments are already addressed through the existing framework and work that is under way and do not believe that further statutory requirements are needed. With that in mind, I ask noble Lords not to press their amendments.