§ Mr. Chris SmithTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the organisations approached by himself and by the Building Societies Commission in consultations held in connection with proposed changes to schedule 8 of the Building Societies Act 1986, and in connection with the procedures set down for the conversion of societies into public limited companies; and what discussions he or the commission has had with organisations representing individual depositors or borrower members of building societies in the course of these consultations.
§ Mr. LilleyThe review of schedule 8 of the Building Societies Act was undertaken by the Treasury and the Building Societies Commission in close consultation with the Building Societies Association and, through it, with the societies themselves. The commission has also consulted extensively other Government Departments, the Bank of England, the Securities and Investments Board, and the relevant self-regulatory organisations.
The commission issued consultation documents on conversion in July and December last year. Copies were sent to interested parties, including the Consumer Council among others. There has also been full consultation with the Treasury and other Government Departments, and the Bank of England together with the Building Societies Association and with individual societies and their financial and legal advisers. Abbey Members Against Floatation (AMAF), approach the commission in late May and have been invited to comment on the consultation paper.