29 April 1999
TREASURY WELCOMES FURTHER STEP TOWARDS GETTING FINANCIAL SERVICES AND MARKETS BILL INTO LAW
The Treasury welcomed publication today of the report of a pre-legislative joint Scrutiny Committee of the Lords and Commons, chaired by Lord Burns.
Economic Secretary Patricia Hewitt said :
"This report shows that our innovative and open approach to consultation and pre-legislative scrutiny is really working. Its publication sets the scene for introduction of the Bill into Parliament.
"We commend the Committee for a very thorough inquiry, and are grateful to the many organisations which gave evidence. The Committee has broadly endorsed the approach to reform set out in the draft Bill published last year, and the improvements announced in the light of public consultation. They have also made constructive recommendations for further improvements, which we will consider carefully before responding."
The Committee has proposed a limited extension of its inquiry to enable it to complete its inquiries into possible implications of the European Convention on Human Rights for the new fines regime for market abuse. It will report on these issues by the end of May.
Supporting the proposal, Ms Hewitt said:
"The Government attaches great importance to compatibility with the ECHR, which is why we acted to incorporate the Convention into UK law. We agree that the Committee should have the opportunity to examine fully this aspect of the draft Bill before it is introduced, and we shall be submitting further evidence to the Committee. The further report they will then make will be another important step in getting the Bill into law"
NOTES FOR EDITORS
1. The setting up of the joint House of Commons and House of Lords Joint Scrutiny Committee was announced by the then Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Stephen Byers on 24 November 1998 (HMT press release 99/98).
2. Copies of the Joint Scrutiny Committee report are available from the Committee Office, House of Lords on 020 7219 1366.
3. Media enquiries to the Treasury should be addressed to Charles Keseru on 020 7270 5188.