§ Mr. MallonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps are being taken to assess the extent of problems being created by the existence of illegal money lenders; and what steps are being taken to combat these problems.
§ Mr. AtkinsIn Northern Ireland the Department of Economic Development's trading standards branch shares enforcement responsibility for the Consumer Credit Act 1974 with the Director General of Fair Trading.
The branch actively enforces this Act throughout the Province and takes appropriate enforcement action where breaches of the legislation are detected and supporting evidence is available.