“(1) Nothing in this Part prevents a redress scheme from providing (subject to regulations under section (

(a) for membership to be open to persons who wish to join as voluntary members;

(b) for the investigation or determination of any complaints under a voluntary jurisdiction (including complaints by persons who are not current or former owners of dwellings in relation to which estate management is carried out);

(c) for voluntary mediation services;

(d) for the exclusion from investigation and determination under the scheme of any complaint in such cases or circumstances as may be specified in or determined under the scheme.

(2) In this Part—

‘complaints under a voluntary jurisdiction’ means complaints in relation to which there is no duty to be a member of a redress scheme, where the members against which the complaints are made have voluntarily accepted the jurisdiction of the scheme over those complaints;

‘voluntary mediation services’ means mediation, conciliation or similar processes provided at the request of a member in relation to complaints made—

(a) against the member, or

(b) by the member against another person;

‘voluntary members’, in relation to a scheme, means members who are not subject to a duty to be a member of a redress scheme.”—

This new clause, to be inserted after NC15, would provide for redress schemes to have the possibility of voluntary jurisdiction.

Brought up, read the First and Second time, and added to the Bill.