Banking (Special Provisions) Bill

I am grateful to the noble Lords who have spoken in this debate. I will first address Amendment No. 6. Amendments Nos. 3 and 5, in the name of the Liberal Party, are on issues which I take seriously and want to address in a moment. However, I want to assure the noble Lord and the Committee that we have given the management of Northern Rock a clear sense of what is expected of them. I take the point that my noble friend Lord Eatwell made; namely, it is not about a business plan, but about strategy. Last autumn, at the outset of this process, the Government set three clear objectives for the successful resolution of the situation: to protect taxpayers; to protect depositors; and to maintain financial stability. Those objectives have guided everything that we have done to date and will continue to guide our relations with Northern Rock as we develop our shareholder and lender relationships during this period of temporary public ownership. I can confirm that the Chief Secretary has said that we will publish a framework document that sets out the formal basis of those relationships, a copy of which will be placed in the Library of the House.