My Lords, I thank the Minister for introducing the amendments in this group which, as she says, will primarily establish a much-needed statutory debt respite scheme. As she also said, it is necessary and important. We have signed some of the amendments in this group and are absolutely delighted to support their inclusion in the Bill.
The failure to include a breathing space in the Bill left a substantial gap in the services which the debt charities need, if they are to offer the best support to those struggling with unmanageable debt, so we have been pursuing it through the various stages of the Bill and challenging the Government to up their game and honour their manifesto commitment. Initially, I think it was clear to the whole House that the Minister was under strict instructions to agree to nothing. But it is to her considerable credit that, after listening to the arguments and consulting widely, she decided that the case had been made. She and her Bill team then went out to bat for the proposal and, from a standing start, secured support for the amendment from her government colleagues. Only those who have witnessed the turf wars that this sort of decision—to introduce a breathing space—must have precipitated can appreciate what has been going on in Whitehall over the last few weeks. I have seen that at close quarters and it is not a pretty sight. I therefore salute the hard work that the Minister and her team have put into this, and I am lost in admiration at their ability to persuade—at ridiculously short notice—her ministerial colleagues to back this amendment today.
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The Minister said that the way in which the Government and the Opposition have worked together to achieve consensus on a workable amendment which will enable the successful delivery of a breathing space scheme has been impressive. I agree. Actually, it is true of the whole Bill. As I have already said, I hope it sets a standard for the way we could work in your Lordships’ House for the public good.
I know from personal experience that the campaign to introduce a breathing space scheme in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, which builds on the successful debt arrangement scheme in Scotland, has had a long gestation. It has been championed by StepChange, the debt charity, based on its direct knowledge of working in all the nations, including Scotland, and the idea has the support of many creditors as well as other charities involved in the debt space. I salute the excellent work done by these charities over the years.
The Minister drew attention to the many similarities that exist between her amendment, the amendment tabled by me and supported by other noble Lords on Report and the similar amendment laid, but now withdrawn, for this Third Reading. There is a story behind this, which need not detain us today. Suffice it to say that my colleagues and I have learned a great deal in the past few weeks about the rules governing the scope and admissibility of amendments to public Bills. However, having thought hard about what we could and should do and having listened to the Minister and heard her commitment to the introduction of the debt respite scheme as soon as is reasonably practicable, we concluded that the right thing to do would be to withdraw our version of the amendment and support the government amendment.
This joint amendment requires the single financial guidance body to provide advice on specific issues to do with the proposed debt respite scheme requested by the Government. The body must provide this advice within 12 months of being established. On receipt of this advice, the Government have committed to make regulations to set up the scheme as soon as reasonably practicable. Any significant delays will cause more hardship, and I am sure we all want to mitigate that as much as we can. We agree with the Government that it makes sense for the new single financial guidance body to supplement, rather than duplicate, the policy work the Government will have done up to that point, consequent on the ongoing consultation. We agree that this amendment provides for more flexibility in designing the scheme, potentially allowing for a scheme with a wider geographical scope. The people of Wales and Northern Ireland should also have the opportunity to benefit from the debt respite scheme, and this amendment provides for that.
Finally, I referred a few moments ago to the discussions that all parties have been having with House officials about what would, and what would not, be in scope of the Bill. I think the Minister also touched on this point. I observe, in passing, that there is an issue underlying this point which might with advantage be looked at by your Lordships’ Procedure Committee in due course. The Minister made a very important concession in respect of the amendment tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Sharkey, who is not in his place, and we should be grateful to her for that. I do not think this is the right way to make progress on issues of this type, and it is confusing to Members of the House who are not directly involved if we do not have better rules by which we can understand how things are admitted or not admitted to the legislation before us.
I shall return to the main argument. We back this amendment. I listened very carefully to what the Minister said about why the amendment grants a power to the Government to make regulations setting up the debt respite scheme rather than placing a duty on the SFGB to introduce the scheme, which was the approach we took in our amendments. We accept that placing the duty on the SFGB was not the ideal way to proceed for a body which would not otherwise have significant operational activities in this sector, but neither we nor the Government could find a way of getting that approach in scope. We therefore decided to seek assurances from the Government that they could use a lesser power to deliver a better scheme, and I think I have heard them today. I am very pleased to have heard the Minister confirm this afternoon that the new wording will deliver the debt respite scheme. I shall quote to her what she said earlier in this debate:
“We have been clear here and elsewhere that we will deliver a breathing space scheme .... This is simply a necessary step to give us the power we need to establish the scheme through this Bill”.
I believe that statement makes it crystal clear that the Government have the process in train and that Ministers have the necessary commitment and, under this Bill, will shortly have the powers they need to set up a debt respite scheme which matches the situation in Scotland, initially in England, and we hope across the rest of the United Kingdom. This debt respite scheme will ease the burden on families and their children and offer them the de jure protection they need to get their affairs in order without being threatened by their creditors. The creation of a statutory debt management plan will benefit hundreds of thousands of people who suffer from unmanageable debt. The powers created in this Bill will make a huge difference to the debt charities that work in this sector and have campaigned so long for the creation of this scheme.
The noble Baroness, Lady Buscombe, was kind enough to thank all sections of your Lordships’ House for their contributions to the earlier debates and for their support for this amendment. I endorse everything she said. I am delighted to have played a small part in the process of creating this legal framework and delivering the powers needed. What we want now is for the scheme to be designed and delivered quickly and effectively. Having listened to the Minister today, I place my trust in the Government to see this through as soon as reasonably practicable.