Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 141: 141: Clause 58, page 36, line 19, at end insert— ““( ) Regulations in this section may make provision for the exemption of certain service providers.”” The noble Baroness said: I rise to speak to Amendment No. l41 and to oppose the Question that Clause 58 stand part of the Bill. I am pleased finally to have the opportunity to discuss doorstep selling. Opposing the Question that Clause 58 stand part of the Bill is a probing issue, and Amendment No. 141 seeks to close a loophole in the clause which we believe could be problematic. I am also pleased that Her Majesty's Government have listened to DPRRC recommendations and ensured that Clause 58 orders to make regulations in respect of contracts conducted away from business should be subject to affirmative procedure. Broadly speaking, we on these Benches welcome these new provisions. We believe that the enhancement of doorstep-selling legislation will ensure that consumers are protected from sharp selling techniques and undue pressure exerted in the home. Indeed, the report from Citizens Advice in 2002, Door to Door, and Age Concern’s report in the same year, Sharp Selling Practices, illustrated how traders can take advantage of doorstep selling, and especially how the most vulnerable in society are prey to such practice. Yet while this new protection is very welcome, I remain concerned about two things. First, I should be grateful to the Minister if he would confirm whether or not some home services, such as plumbing or electrical or decorating work, could be construed as business undertaken away from the premises, and thus under the new provisions of the Bill. Amendment No. 141 seeks to ensure that, when necessary, such services could be exempt from the cooling-off period. As Members of the Committee will remember from Second Reading, there could be a situation in which a trader could refuse to perform a service until the end of the cooling-off period, which could be disastrous to someone with water pouring through his ceiling. I should like to thank the Minister for his letter following Second Reading, which has been extremely useful for the purposes of today's debate. In it, he stated that he was, "““mindful of these kinds of issues””." I would be grateful if he could expand on that point today. Perhaps he has considered possible government amendments that could introduce caveats to protect not only consumers from having home services delayed, but also traders, such as plumbers and electricians, who do not delay until after the cooling-off period and who find that customers then cancel their payment. The second point, which is of some concern, is the impact of these new regulations on credit arrangements. I was pleased to read in the Minister's letter that some credit arrangements—namely, those linked to doorstep sales—could be considered within the scope of the doorstep-selling regulations. I wonder whether, by the next stage of the Bill, it would be possible to have sight of draft regulations in order to probe the Minister’s intentions more fully. I look forward to his response on these matters. I beg to move.