§ Mr. Fittasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) whether he is satisfied that the Moneylenders Act 1933 gives adequate protection to borrowers; and whether he will amend the Act to give greater protection;
(2) how many persons have been prosecuted under the terms of the Moneylenders Act 1933;
(3) how many persons are holders of a moneylender's licence under the Money lenders Act 1933;
(4) how many persons are employed by his Department to act as inspectors in respect of the Moneylenders Act 1933.
§ Mr. Concannon,pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 27 March 1979; Vol. 965, c. 163], gave the following answer;
The licensing provisions of the Moneylenders Act (Northern Ireland) 1933 have been replaced by the provisions of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. Licences are issued under the Act to virtually all credit granters such as trade suppliers offering credit, banks, finance houses, pawnbrokers, moneylenders, check traders, mail order firms, tally men and mutual loan clubs; moneylenders are not readily identifiable as such under the licensing system.
Under the terms of the Act enforcement of the licensing procedure is vested in the Department of Commerce through the officers employed in the trading standards branch. Twenty-four officers are 532W empowered to check the licences of persons offering credit and loan facilities. The licensing procedures became effective in October 1977 and there have been no prosecutions in Northern Ireland for offences connected with non-possession of licences.
The Director General of Fair Trading is responsible for the administration of the Act and has a statutory duty to review its working and enforcement in the United Kingdom. If experience showed that amendment was needed he would advise the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection to that effect.