Financial Markets

My Lords, last week, after a meeting between the Local Government Association and the Treasury, a statement was issued that there was no evidence that any council had acted recklessly in placing deposits with Icelandic banks. Now that we know that some council officers who should have been more prudent were placing deposits with Icelandic banks right up to the end of September—these people are highly paid professionals and not amateurs running some charity—does the Treasury still stand by the view that no reckless deposit-placing took place? I do not expect the Minister to know the answer to the following question now, but will he give me an undertaking that he will look into it and write to me? May we have some guidance on the role of two advisory firms, Sector Treasury Services and Butlers, which appear to have given councils advice and an A-rating for Landsbanki and Heritable virtually up to the moment that that firm bit the dust? Were those two somewhat shadowy operations remunerated in any way by Landsbanki or Heritable? My other question follows on from that of my noble friend Lord Newby about mortgages, to which I am afraid that I did not hear an answer. What does keeping the availability of mortgage-lending at 2007 levels mean? That was a completely wild, once-in-a-lifetime year. It would be completely inappropriate for the amount of mortgage lending by the banks to continue at that level. Part of the reason that we are in the mess that we are in is that there was that much mortgage-lending. What does it mean and how will it be enforced?