Banking (Special Provisions) Bill

My Lords, like this whole process, this is extremely disheartening. The order has clearly not been prepared since last Sunday. A framework agreement could, I suggest, have been prepared in the same timescale as the order. I came away from this particular debate in Committee feeling that we had made some progress, not only in gaining some clearer understanding of the Government’s intentions, but also in persuading the Government of the wisdom of involving your Lordships and other colleagues in another place more fully. We now discover that this is not the case. Instead of the assurance I was hoping for, I discover that the Government are still unable to be as open and transparent about their dealings with Northern Rock as they should be. While I will not press the amendment, I am afraid that this does nothing to reassure your Lordships or the public at large as to what the management arrangements will be. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. Clause 15 [Orders and regulations: general]: