Compensation Bill [HL]

This is a very interesting debate. I spent a good few years as a director of Business in the Community, promoting corporate social responsibility. There is much resonance in this for me as regards the kind of work that I grew up with. I am unsure about putting this on the face of the Bill, as the noble Lord, Lord Goodhart, is nervous about competition playing such a big role. Although I do not disagree with the need to ensure that the issues are discussed properly, much of what I want the regulator to do is probably quite technical and quite focused on the companies and organisations with which the regulator will be dealing, rather than about making grand statements. That does not mean that I do not think that there is such a role, but I am not sure that I want to give it that prominence. Where the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, is absolutely right is in pitching the matter at—if I can so describe it—a societal overview of what we want to say to companies, organisations and individuals about rights and responsibilities. The quotation given by the noble Lord from the American senator about the damage that this matter can cause between citizens is a point of which we are very mindful. In a sense, that is where we began. We know that there is not a compensation culture per se that we need to worry about in terms of numbers and claims, but we also recognise that there is a perception of a compensation culture which is causing things to happen that we want to stop or which is making things not happen—going back to Clause 1—that we want to encourage. This is a very important issue as regards the overview. I believe that it will be the role of government, of my noble and learned friend, of Ministers and of those of us who have positions of authority to make the point that people have responsibilities and rights. That includes organisations and individuals. The noble Lord, Lord Hunt, spoke of the specific way in which education plays a role. I agree. Having been an education Minister and having been responsible for parts of the curriculum, I could not agree more with the way in which we have moved on the citizenship agenda to try to get young people, particularly 14 to 16 year-olds, to start discussing and understanding those issues. The noble Lord, Lord Hunt, will know that included in all the work on citizenship and other aspects of the curriculum is having a greater understanding of finance and of personal finance. We know that those who get caught up in some of these areas are those who do not understand personal finance, do not understand the implications of what they have signed, do not understand the rules of contract and do not understand what companies are telling them they should do. Through the education system, we need to address that properly so that we can give people the information and the tools with which to make decisions for themselves, so that they are not vulnerable prey to those in this area who are disreputable. I do not disagree with the sentiments behind the amendment. It is important to put this Bill in the greater context of responsibilities and rights across society and to recognise the damage that could be done if we were not to tackle the point that has been raised. Neither do I disagree that the regulator may have a role to play in stressing how important it is that people behave responsibly. There would be a requirement on the companies involved to behave responsibly and to consider the claims coming forward and so on. However, I just do not know whether I want to give that the prominence that it would have if it were on the face of the Bill. That might suggest a different kind of regulator; it might suggest that a lot of time ought to be spent in this field. My personal view is that, certainly at the beginning of this role, it is important to get all the technical things in place and to concentrate on getting this market into shape. That does not mean that I would not consider—as we have done with other aspects of the regulator’s role raised by the noble Lord, Lord Hunt—including this aspect elsewhere, but I do not want it on the face of the Bill. I am grateful for the debate, however, because it is important.