§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list those organisations invited to attend the recent summit on household debt. [137254]
§ Dr. Howells[holding answer 7 November 2000]: I invited the following organisations to the conference on tackling over-indebtedness which I hosted on 30 October:
- Association of Payment Clearing Services
- British Bankers Association
- British Retail Consortium
- Cabinet Office—Social Exclusion Unit
- Consumer Credit Association
- Consumer Credit Trade Association
- Consumers Association
- Council of Mortgage Lenders
- Creation Financial Services
- Credit Services Association
- Department for Education and Employment
- Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions
- Department of Social Security
- Department of Trade and Industry—Insolvency Service
228W - Equifax
- Experian
- Federation of Independent Advice Centres
- Finance and Leasing Association
- Financial Services Authority
- HM Treasury
- Lord Chancellor's Department
- Mail Order Traders Association
- Money Advice Trust
- National Consumer Council
- National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux
- National Pawnbrokers Association
- Office of Fair Trading
- Office of the Data Protection Commissioner
- Personal Finance Research Centre
- Scottish Executive
- Sheriffs of England and Wales.
§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what proposals he has to deal with irresponsible lending by financial institutions; [137255]
(2) if he will make a statement on the outcome of the recent summit on household debt. [137253]
§ Dr. Howells[holding answer 7 November 2000]: The meeting was very constructive and creditor representatives have agreed to work with the Government to look at ways of achieving more responsible lending and borrowing.
I will shortly set up an industry task force to look at three key areas:
improving the transparency of information provided to consumers before and when concluding a credit agreement, including the small print;adoption of core principles of lending practice, including examining an applicant's overall borrowing exposure and ability to repay; and,requiring clear notification to consumers on free and low interest agreements before the final payment is made.I hope that the task force will begin its work before Christmas and make recommendations to Government by spring next year.