Building Societies (Funding) and Mutual Societies (Transfers) Bill

I hope that the Minister will be able to respond to the concerns expressed. At the moment, the definition in amendment No. 3 of an EEA mutual society is not confined to financial mutuals, but the definition in the Bill relating to mutual societies—in other words, UK mutual societies—is confined to financial mutuals. My hon. Friend the Member for Fareham made an analogy with a mutual wine-growing co-operative. In this country we have a well known and ancient wine co-operative, of which I am privileged to be a mutual member, and that is the Wine Society. If anyone suggested that the Wine Society might be able to take over a building society, people would think that they must be barking. But on the face of it, the Bill would enable a co-operative vineyard in an EEA state to take over a mutual savings society operating in this country. My hon. Friend also referred in passing to the concerns that have been expressed about cost, including the cost of the Financial Services Authority becoming involved at that vague dividing line between its responsibilities in the UK and how much it could be involved in regulating a mutual based outside the UK. I notice from the financial memorandum that the costs to be incurred would never exceed the costs actually incurred by the FSA, but implicit in that is that the FSA would be able to pass on its full costs to any mutuals involved. Concern was expressed in the other place that that might be a deterrent. I am not saying that that would necessarily be a bad thing, because it would be good to have some deterrent against all our mutuals being taken over by foreign organisations. I hope that the Minister will be able to address the point that I put to my hon. Friend at the outset about reciprocity. At the moment, the Bill and the notes on it are phrased to suggest that a mutual society in this country could be acquired by or merged with a mutual society elsewhere. However, it would not appear to facilitate the taking over of a foreign mutual by a UK-based mutual. I hope that the Minister will be able to address our concerns and give me some assurances, so that we do not have to divide the House and thereby jeopardise the further progress of this important piece of legislation, on which I once again congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth, West.