Over the months of This Credit Crunch and Financial Crisis, I have been calling for greater scale support from the Government.

Does he believe that because of the seriousness of the Credit Crunch and the Financial Crisis, there should be more genuine co-operation, contact and communication between the Government and the Opposition parties, to see whether there could be co-operation in bringing about a solution to the extremely serious problems that we face?

As well as the collapse of traditional commodities, which not only made money for the region but provided employment, the Caribbean also suffers from the Current Credit Crunch and Financial Crisis.

I say that not least because, in the light of the Credit Crunch and the Financial Crisis, I have all too often given speeches in the past couple of years saying that we cannot and should not be overly reliant on the financial services industry in the years to come.

Is not the bigger criticism of it, however, that it simply betrayed, among those in the European Union who are attempting to introduce it, a lack of understanding about the role of asset management and, indeed, its non-role in the Credit Crunch and Financial Crisis that we have faced over the past two years?

My Lords, to follow on from the noble Lord, Lord Foulkes, surely the Minister agrees that these credit rating agencies were instrumental in causing the Credit Crunch and Financial Crisis by rating what ended up being worse than junk bond instruments as triple-A?

He knows that over the five years since it became difficult to find money for things - the Credit Crunch and Financial Crisis of 2008 - we have put benefits up by 20%, including 5.

Would the Minister agree that one reason for the Credit Crunch and the Financial Crisis seven years ago was the prolonged low rate of interest of 5% a year?