Financial Services Bill Lords committee day six
9 October 2012
The Financial Services Bill continued committee stage, line by line scrutiny of the bill, in the House of Lords yesterday (Monday 8 October)
Lords continued to look at the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) role relating to the interests of different types of consumers.
Lord Stevenson (of Balmacara) Labour moved Amendment 165DA, looking at ways to ‘demonstrate that government recognises that business has a responsibility to respect human rights and sustainable development’. He withdrew his suggested change as the ‘current FSA has, and the future FCA will have, the power to set down rules’, however he also said ‘it is something that in future we maybe have to come back to’.
The debate then moved onto the issue of remuneration. Lord Davies of Oldham (Labour) moved Amendment 173AAB suggesting that ‘an employee representative should be a member of the remuneration committee of a relevant body corporate’, and stated that: ‘The whole nation is all too aware of the need for effective action on the remuneration of directors of companies’. Lord Flight (Conservative) said that he felt ‘the direction is there and functioning already’, as he received ‘substantial directions from the FSA’ when he sat on the remuneration committee of a financial services business.
Lord Davies later withdrew his amendment but said he hoped the ‘development of ideas in the Department for Business is such that we are going to see legislation which gives some effect to the principles I have adumbrated’.
Topics also under discussion included crowd funding schemes, Financial Conduct Authority investigations and contracts for debt management services.
Further line by line scrutiny is yet to be scheduled.
Previous stages of the Financial Services Bill
• News: Lords committee stage day five
• News: Lords committee stage day four
• News: Lords committee stage day three
• News: Lords committee stage day two
• News: Lords committee stage day one
• News: Lords second reading
What is committee stage?
Detailed line by line examination of the separate parts (clauses and schedules) of the bill takes place during committee stage. Any member of the Lords can take part.
It usually starts no later than two weeks after the second reading and can last for one to eight days or more.
The day before committee stage starts, amendments (changes) are published in a marshalled list (amendments on related subjects are grouped together).
During committee stage every clause of the bill has to be agreed to and votes on the amendments can take place. All proposed amendments can be discussed and there is no time limit, or guillotine, on discussion of amendments.
About the Financial Services Bill
The bill was introduced in the Lords at first reading on 23 May.
The bill will amend the Bank of England Act 1998, the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and the Banking Act 2009 to make provisions about financial services and markets. It will also exercise certain statutory functions relating to building societies, friendly societies and other mutual societies.
The Financial Services Bill will amend section 785 of the Companies Act 2006, enabling the Director of Savings to provide services to other public bodies.