Compensation Bill [HL]

The Minister seems to have paused for a moment. Could some words not be inserted into the provision to make the point that she is making about the regulator having been inefficient or having given the wrong advice, to make it clear that it is a condition that the individual should have sought advice from the regulator? Could we not say,"““having taken all reasonable steps””?" I am trying to see some way in which to ensure that the individual concerned has an obligation on them to take positive steps to acquire the knowledge that they need. As the provision reads, it seems as if it could be used by some of those slippery customers to which I referred before. We must find a way to ensure that people do not abuse the defence in any way. I am comforted by what the Minister has said—that the Government anticipate that the provision will be used in only a very small number of cases, if ever. But at the moment it is standing there as a defence, without qualification.