Gareth Thomas
Main Page: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)Department Debates - View all Gareth Thomas's debates with the Wales Office
(13 years, 2 months ago)
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Mr Gareth Thomas (Harrow West) (Lab/Co-op)
Q10. I draw the attention of the House to the interest that I have previously declared. There are very few people outside the House—or, I suspect, inside it—who think that Northern Rock would have got into as much trouble if it had still been a mutual building society. Given the considerable scepticism about whether the coalition really wants to change the culture in the banking industry, will the Prime Minister now insist that his City Minister requests a serious and detailed assessment of the case for remutualisation of Northern Rock?
The Prime Minister
We are prepared to consider all options, and the City Minister will do that. I would make two points. First, we think that mutualisation should go much further than just the banking industry, and are considering options for mutualisation within the public sector to give members of staff in public sector organisations far more control over the organisations that they are in. On banking, it is about looking at not just mutualisation but the whole issue of responsibility and trying to link in again the idea of taking deposits and making loans, as building societies used to.