Harriett Baldwin raises her concerns that it is easier to take out a payday loan than to open a savings account. She calls on the Government to take action to make it more difficult for people to fall into that sort of temptation. Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con): My constituents find it much easier to take out a payday loan than to open a savings account. What steps are the Government taking to make it much more difficult for my constituents to fall into that sort of temptation? Sajid Javid: My hon. Friend will know that the Government commissioned an independent report from Bristol university on the high interest lending industry. That report shows severe consumer detriment and we have already taken action. We announced last week that we will be working on advertising content and placement, and we will be giving extra powers to the Financial Conduct Authority to impose fines and to close down firms in the most significant cases. She may have seen that last week the Office of Fair Trading announced it is investigating a number of firms: it has told a number of payday firms that they have 12 weeks to shape up; otherwise it will take severe action. | Hansard