Barbara Keeley
Main Page: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Paul Blomfield
It is indeed. If we look across the United States and some other European countries where regulation is the norm, we see a variety of approaches to capping interest rates and capping the total cost of credit. That is also an issue to which I will return.
Barbara Keeley (Worsley and Eccles South) (Lab)
Is not the key issue affordability? I recently heard from a constituent who had to pay back £160 after borrowing £100 for a week. She could not afford the £100, and she certainly could not afford the £160.
Paul Blomfield
My hon. Friend makes an important point. Affordability is indeed at the centre of the Bill, and is an issue to which I will also return.