APPENDIX SUPPLEMENTARY GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO
THE FIRST REPORT OF THE TREASURY COMMITTEE, SESSION 2003-04 (HC
125)
Letter to the Clerk of the Committee
The Government response to the above Report that
I forwarded to you under cover of my letter of 27th
February identified a number of areas where policy was still in
development and undertook to provide an update by way of a further
response once those issues had been settled. This supplementary
response is attached.
As you know, the Government have been considering
issues relating to credit card transparency under the aegis of
the White Paper "Clear, Fair and Competitive - the Consumer
Credit Market in the 21st Century" which was published
for consultation on 8th December last year. As the
next step in the White Paper implementation process, the Department
is today publishing a summary of responses to the White Paper
package. Also published today are statutory instruments to give
effect to the new rules on transparency - governing the advertising
of consumer credit; the provision of pre-contract information;
the form and content of credit agreements; and the early settlement
of loans.
I enclose copies of the Statutory Instruments, along
with their accompanying Regulatory Impact Assessments and the
memoranda that have been prepared for the House of Lords Select
Committee on the Merits of Statutory Instruments. We will shortly
be publishing guidance on the legislation, and I will ensure that
this is forwarded to the Committee as soon as it is available.
Stephen Childerstone
Consumer Credit Review Team
Consumer and Competition Policy Directorate
Department of Trade and Industry
9 June 2004
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