APPENDIX 3: CALL FOR EVIDENCE
A new joint committee has been appointed by both
Houses of Parliament to conduct pre-legislative scrutiny of the
draft Financial Services Bill. The Joint Committee comprises 6 MPs
and 6 Peers. It will take oral and written evidence and make recommendations
in a report to both Houses. The Joint Committee invites interested
organisations and individuals to submit written evidence as part
of the inquiry.
Below are specific questions about the details of
the draft Bill. The Joint Committee would appreciate written submissions
on any of these questions on which you have evidence to contribute.
It is not necessary to address every question.
In addition to the detailed questions the Joint Committee
is interested in whether the draft legislation will or could better:
· prevent another financial crisis,
· handle a financial crisis,
· deal with bank failure and protect the
public purse.
The Joint Committee is also interested in whether
the proposals in the draft Bill will increase or decrease the
risk or regulatory arbitrage of financial businesses.
The following detailed questions are also of interest:
(1) Is the separation of prudential and conduct
regulation into a "twin peaks" system the right approach?
(2) What lessons can be learnt from the approach
of other countries to regulation of the financial sector?
(3) Is it appropriate to make such major changes
to the regulatory system by way of amending legislation, rather
than starting afresh?
(4) Are the accountability and governance arrangements
for the Bank of England, FPC, PRA and FCA satisfactory?[301]
(5) Are the FPC's objectives the right ones?
Is the concept of financial stability adequately understood for
the FPC to be able to perform against its objectives?
(6) Should the FPC be limited in the actions
it can take which might affect the growth of the financial sector?
(7) How will the interaction between macro-prudential
and monetary policies be handled by the FPC and the MPC?
(8) Has the right balance been struck between
the powers of the FPC and the powers of the Treasury?
(9) Can Parliament take an informed decision
about the proposals for the FPC without details of the macro-prudential
tools at its disposal?
(10)Does the draft Bill adequately deal with the
risks posed by the shadow banking system?
(11)Are the PRA's objectives clear and appropriate?
(12)Are there any risks in the Government's proposed
'judgement-based' regulation?
(13)Is the Government's proposed approach to 'orderly'
firm failure satisfactory?
(14)Given that the PRA and the FCA will inherit FSA
staff does the draft Bill do enough to ensure a new regulatory
culture and a more proactive approach to regulation? Will these
two new bodies have staff with the appropriate skill and expertise?
(15)Are the FCA's primary objectives appropriate?
Is significant emphasis given to the promotion of competition?
(16)Are the responsibilities of the FCA towards the
regulation of markets appropriate?
(17)Does the draft Bill strike the right balance
between the responsibilities of consumers and firms? Are the FCA's
new powers in the area of consumer protection appropriate?
(18)Are the prudential regulatory responsibilities
of the FCA towards FCA-only regulated firms given sufficient emphasis
and detail?
(19)Will the new regulatory arrangements reduce the
risk and cost of dealing with miss-selling of financial products?
(20)Are the proposals for co-ordination between the
PRA and FCA clear and adequate? What would be the advantages and
disadvantages of having a Single Point of Contact and/or a joint
rule book for dual-regulated firms?
(21)How do the proposals in the draft Bill fit within
the new European regulatory regime? What freedoms and constraints
will the UK have to operate within that regime?
(22)Does the draft Bill contain any proposals or
omissions, not covered by the questions above, which cause concern?
You need not address all these questions. Short submissions
are preferred. A submission longer than six pages should include
a one-page summary. Submissions should be in Word format where
possible.
Submissions, which should be original and not copies
of papers written for the Government consultations or any other
inquiry, must be received by Friday 2 September 2011.
301 Please do not send submissions that were originally
prepared for the Treasury Select Committees inquiry into the accountability
of the Bank of England. The Joint Committee already has access
to those submissions. Back
| 
