§ The Earl of Northeskasked Her Majesty's Government:
What are the implications for the parliamentary accountability of the Financial Services Authority of the statement by Lord McIntosh of Haringey on 9 May (H.L. Deb., col. 1378) that the consideration of the Financial Services Authority's treatment of the merger between the London Stock Exchange and the Deutsche Borse "is not a responsiblity of the Government and [it] is not my responsibility as the Minister for steering the Bill through the House". [HL2423]
§ Lord McIntosh of HaringeyThe statement to which the noble Earl refers concerned the question of the Financial Services Authority's making public the results of its discussions with its German counterparts on the regulatory implications of the proposed London Stock Exchange-Deutsche Borse merger. Regulatory decisions concerning the recognition of UK investment exchanges and the continuing compliance of such exchanges with the recognition criteria are matters for the FSA rather than the Government. The Financial Services Authority is accountable to Parliament through Treasury Ministers, and the Financial Services and Markets Bill provides that an annual report by the authority on the discharge of its functions must be laid by the Treasury before Parliament.