Mark Lazarowicz (Edinburgh, North and Leith)
(Lab/Co-op):
The pilot projects on loan sharks in Glasgow and Birmingham, to which
my hon. Friend referred, have indeed proved successful. Glasgow city council,
which is involved in the scheme with the Department, has written to me—and,
no doubt, to other MPs in Scotland—pointing out that it has uncovered
evidence of loan shark activity in my constituency, linked to that in
Glasgow. Like the hon. Member for South Antrim (Dr. McCrea), I urge my
hon. Friend to ensure that the pilot schemes on loan sharks are rolled
out throughout the country as soon as possible.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for
Trade and Industry (Mr. Gerry Sutcliffe): My hon. Friend has a
good record of support for people on low incomes and encouraging financial
inclusion. We will look at the outcomes of the pilots, which are already
good. The Glasgow project is looking at the rest of Scotland, but we will
try to roll out to the rest of the UK the experience and skills developed
in those pilot schemes.
