HL Deb 05 February 1973 vol 338 cc842-4

3.4 p.m.

LORD DRUMALBYN

My Lords, on behalf of my noble friend Lord Limerick, I beg to move that this Bill be now read a third time.

Moved, That the Bill be now read 3ª.—(Lord Drumalbyn.)

On Question, Bill read 3ª.

LORD DRUMALBYN

My Lords, I beg to move that the Bill do now pass.

Moved, That the Bill do now pass.— (Lord Drumalbyn.)

LORD GARDINER

My Lords, as the noble Lord, Lord Airedale, and I were the only noble Lords to put down Amendments to this Bill, other than Government Amendments, at the Committee stage perhaps your Lordships will allow me to say a few words before we part with it. The Bill represents a great advance in consumer protection law. I think I can say that in this House consumer protection law has always been non-Party and I should to-day pay tribute to the women Peers who always lead the way in this field, my noble friend Lady Phillips, the noble Baroness, Lady Elliot of Harwood, my noble friend Lady Burton of Coventry and others.

There seems to me to be rather a change in the atmosphere. We owe it to the Law Commission that a solution to this grave evil of the exemption clauses, which has been with us since before the Molony Committee and to which it was so difficult to find a right solution in law, has been found. We owe it to the careful work of the Law Commission that they found the solution, and to the Government for having implemented it. This is rather an unexpected Government, so far as I am concerned; for I am not quite sure what they are going to do next. But it looks to me as though the sun is rising on the consumer protection field.

In Sir Geoffrey Howe we have a real champion of consumer rights. I had happy relations with him when he was a junior barrister on the Bar Council. In my first year of office as Lord Chancellor I gave Silk to two promising junior barristers in another place, Sir Geoffrey Howe and Mr. Dick Taverne and I look forward to Sir Geoffrey's future activities in this field. The noble and learned Lord the Lord Chancellor will no doubt say that one of the tiresome things about reformers is that whatever reforms you give them they always want something more. Therefore, I must not say more than that we have got the Crowther Report on Consumer Credit. I think everybody believes this to be a first-class Report. I would respectfully hope that the noble and learned Lord the Lord Chancellor will join with Sir Geoffrey Howe in enabling it to be put before Parliament as soon as may be. Meanwhile, I am sure that all who are interested in this field would wish to express their thanks to the Government for putting through this Bill.

LORD DRUMALBYN

My Lords, may I in a word or two express my appreciation of what the noble and learned Lord has just said? I shall be very glad indeed to convey all that he has said to my right honourable friend Sir Geoffrey Howe, and I know that my noble friend Lord Limerick would wish me to express his thanks and those of the whole House to the persuasiveness and activity of the noble and learned Lord himself which I believe is going to lead to an improvement in the Bill.

On Question, Bill passed, and sent to the Commons.