Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will respond to the recommendations of the Citizens Advice Bureau report, Stuck in Debt, on forcing lenders to scrap unarranged overdraft fees, prohibiting lenders from increasing a credit limit without a customer's permission, offering financial advice and making debt plans legally enforceable.

The Government is committed to tackling the causes of problem debt, and is aware of the Citizens Advice report, although it is not the practice to respond directly to such reports.

The Government has fundamentally reformed regulation of the consumer credit market, transferring regulatory responsibility from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on 1 April 2014. This more robust regulatory system is delivering the Government’s vision for a well-functioning and sustainable consumer credit market which is able to meet consumers’ needs.

Since the transfer, the FCA has taken a proactive approach on consumer credit, including overdrafts, to ensure that all consumers who use high-cost credit products are treated fairly. As a result of its Credit Card Market Study, the FCA has also taken action to tackle persistent debt in the credit card market. As part of this, the industry has also developed a voluntary agreement to give greater control to customers and to restrict offers of credit limit increases.

The Government also believes that consumers need free at the point of use help with their finances. In the Queen’s Speech, the Government announced the Financial Guidance and Claims Bill. This will legislate to restructure the financial guidance landscape and bring debt advice, money guidance, and pensions guidance together in a single body, and give consumers better access to the financial information they need. This Bill is currently going through Parliament.