§ Lord Campbell of Croy asked Her Majesty's Government:
§ Whether they propose to increase restrictions on those forms of direct selling, involving pyramids or chain letters, which are likely to mislead the public about their effects.
Lord LucasMy Lords, we shall be consulting soon over changes to the legislation controlling pyramid selling and similar trading schemes. We want to ensure that potential and actual participants in trading schemes are protected from abuses which are peculiar to schemes with a pyramid recruitment structure.
Lord Campbell of CroyMy Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend for that very satisfactory Answer. While members of the public cannot be protected from any foolishness of their own, are the Government concerned to deter the launching of apparently attractive and safe schemes which claim respectability, but which in practice can benefit only a small proportion of those who take part in them while losing money for the others, yet which are not presented as lotteries?
Lord LucasMy Lords, yes. There is no end to the ingenuity of such criminals, but we have found a remedy for the worst of the current abuses. We have closed the three major funds and are in hot pursuit of the others. However, the law as it stands is clearly inadequate. We need to update it and to consult widely on how it should be updated.
§ Lord HaskelMy Lords, we are all convinced of the need to protect the public from the perils of pyramid selling and chain letters, but can the Minister tell us whether the Government regret that because it curbs free enterprise or because it means more regulation?