My Lords, I add my support to Amendment 56. It is important that if those who are involved in the actions that will be part of the new body want to know and to clarify what their duties are, there is clear direction for them. I share the concerns that a number of financial companies have offered to me: they want to abide by the regulations, yet when they ask the FCA, “If I do this, would that be compliant?” the response often is, “If you do it and we don’t like it, we’ll see you in court”, which really is not very helpful.
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While I am on my feet, I reiterate the concerns I have relating to Amendments 51 and 52, following on from my noble friend Lord Deben’s comments. It is vital to clarify in the Bill once and for all the difference between “advice” and “guidance”. This is meant to be a guidance body. Unfortunately, regulatorily, the term “advice” is attached to debt in a way it typically is not for other financial products. It would be helpful if the Bill took the opportunity to change the term “debt advice” to something I have suggested here as “debt counselling”, although it could be “debt rescheduling”. The point is, it will be really helpful if the public could see that. “Advice” applies to something the public pay for. It is something available to them; it will look at their whole circumstances and make them an individual recommendation. However, “guidance” or other such words will apply to something that can be free and offered by the Government themselves, or a non-departmental body, or another body or a charity. If we can address that in the Bill it would be enormously helpful for the longer-term future and for a holistic body offering guidance.
We have a chance to separate the advice function and the guidance function. We have already debated the fact that debt advice cannot include proper financial advice as currently constructed—it could, but at the moment the body is not set up to do so—which, for example, would be able to tell the person coming for help with their debt whether to opt out of their workplace pension. That is crucial and it is a difference in the landscape from when the current system was set up, which I hope the Bill will recognise.