§ Mr. Martyn JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will take steps to protect people on low incomes from the problems associated with easily available credit.
§ Mr. ForthMajor safeguards are already provided for borrowers by existing legislation under which consumers must be informed about the terms of credit agreements before they enter into them. However, the Government have made known their concern about some marketing practices, which suggest among other things that credit is more readily available than it is. We are keeping the situation under review and hope that these problems will be addressed in the code of practice being prepared by the banks and building societies following the report of the committee on banking services law and practice.