Financial Services Bill

I am sorry, but I will not, as I do not have much time left and I have already taken some interventions. Between October and December last year, there was a 25% increase in the number of people complaining about these companies, and three quarters of those complaints were upheld by the financial services ombudsman. Demand for these products will only get stronger. Two in five people are expecting a pay freeze this year, and one in five expect to lose their job. Inflation rates might slow, but that will only slow the pace of the cost of living, especially in the capital city. Six million people are already considered financially fragile; if one more bill goes up—their mortgage, transport costs or even their food bills—they will be pushed further and further into debt. With banks not lending to these people, it is these legal loan sharks who will pick up the pieces. We should reflect on the fact that the one industry growing in this country is these legal loan sharks. Cash Converters proudly say they are going to open another 40 new shops—at 1,413% APR; while Albemarle is opening 300 new shops, charging 853% APR. This is also a serious issue for our economy. If millions of families have thousands of pounds worth of debt that they cannot escape, it is clearly going to impact on consumer confidence. This will be the new economic crisis that will come to Britain in the years to come if we do not deal with this problem, as we have concentrations of communities with thousands of pounds of debt hanging around their necks, limiting the choices they can make for their futures and limiting the kind of lives they can lead. The failure to tackle these issues will leave millions of people with unmanageable debt, yet we have an opportunity to make progress through this legislation. This problem is not going to go away. It is right to look at the industry and for consumers to be involved in setting the rates and determining what is consumer detriment. Let me tell the Minister that the public clearly want action on legal loan sharks. His own Back Benchers want action on them. I welcome the conversion of Government Members to this cause. I just hope that it is a conversion that will continue all the way through to voting in favour of our amendments. Even the industry wants action. It does not want the current uncertainty. My simple question to Ministers, if they will not accept our amendments, will not send out the message and will not finally tackle legal loan sharking is this: how much worse does it have to get for the people affected in our communities? We know that 4 million people in Britain are already borrowing from these companies, and there could be as many as 10 million if we do not deal with these problems within the next year. That will be 10 million people stuck in a cycle of toxic debt that will damage them and their families for years to come. I therefore ask the Minister to take on board the suggested amendments and to take account of the desire of Members on both sides of the House for action on legal loan sharking. Let us finally make the third time a charm.