Saving Gateway Accounts Bill

I begin by saying how much I have looked forward to this Committee stage. I know from my experience of the Banking Bill with noble Lords, including in particular the noble Baroness and the noble Lord, Lord Newby, that work in Committee will almost certainly be a challenge, that there will be good scrutiny and, conceivably, improvement. I look forward to working with noble Lords to achieve that. I also welcome the noble Baroness’s statement of the Opposition’s support in principle for the Bill and this new product. I will endeavour to do better with the speed of communication. Indeed, if it continues to fall short of the noble Baroness’s expectations, I may take it upon myself to hand-deliver the letters if they take as long as they appear to have done. I apologise for that. I have always believed that being granted the facility by Members of the House or Committee to respond to technical matters by correspondence is a privilege that colleagues should not abuse; that is to say, we should respond promptly and in detail to anything where we beg the indulgence of the House or Committee to respond in writing rather than during the debate.