Next week Stockton North MP Alex Cunningham will join MPs from across the country to support proposed caps on the amount that payday and home credit lenders can charge for credit.
The Backbench Business Committee has granted a three hour debate in the House of Commons next Thursday on Consumer Credit. The motion has gained wide-spread cross-party support from MPs who believe the Government has a duty to intervene in the high-cost credit market which exploits many vulnerable people on low incomes.
With unemployment on the rise and the prospects for the economy looking shaky, now is the time this problem must be tackled, as more and more people will be tempted to turn to these unscrupulous lenders to make ends meet.
Alex hopes to speak in Thursday’s debate and will also be in Parliament on Friday to support the second reading of the Consumer Credit and Regulation Bill. This Private Member’s Bill seeks to improve access to credit unions for people in Britain as well as tackle the practice of legal loan sharking by payday, doorstep and hire purchase lenders.
Looking forward to next week’s busy schedule, Alex said:
“The fact that Consumer Credit has been given valuable debating time by the Backbench Business Committee shows that there is a lot of support amongst MPs to act on this issue.
I know of examples in my own constituency where people are sick with worry about the amount of money they owe to irresponsible legal loan sharks.
I hope that on Thursday and Friday next week MPs will succeed in drawing Government attention to this long-running issue. Something must be done to protect vulnerable consumers against these predatory and exploitative companies which seek to saddle people with unmanageable debt.”