§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the Cruickshank report, Competition in United Kingdom Banking. [116368]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonThe Government welcome the report and will act on its recommendations to improve competition in banking and services to customers. On 20 March, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry referred the provision of banking services to small and medium enterprises to the Competition Commission for examination under the complex monopoly provisions of the Fair Trading Act 1973. The Chancellor announced in the Budget on 21 March that the Government would legislate to open up access to payments systems and to oversee access charges; and that he had asked the Financial Services Authority to consider the recommendations in the Report concerning consumer information and to report to him within three months, consulting widely, on how they propose to respond. The Government will respond to the other recommendations in the report shortly.