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Charities Bill [HL]

I am grateful to the Minister. It seems to me he is essentially saying he   thinks that guarantors would use their position unreasonably to try to frustrate mergers—that may possibly be the case—and that the matter would be better tackled by means of a standard form of contract. No doubt firms such as that of the noble Lord, Lord   Phillips, would be glad to help draw up such a standard form of contract. It seems to me that one of the dangers is that someone could give a guarantee to a charity, not realising that his guarantee could be transferred to another charity without his knowing about it, or without his consent, in circumstances where he would not wish to give that consent, perhaps because he originally gave the guarantee to a small charity about which he was particularly concerned and which he wanted to prosper. However, when it was going to be merged, he considered that it could stand on its own two feet. That does not seem to me entirely satisfactory. Clearly, the Minister’s answer is an answer, but I wonder how many times people will find that their guarantees have been transferred before firms such as that of the noble Lord, Lord Phillips, have produced a standard form on the word processor stating that you must not give a guarantee unless you sign up on that standard form. I should like to think further about the matter. However, in the mean time, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn. Clause 42 agreed to. Clauses 43 to 72 agreed to. Schedule 7 [Minor and consequential amendments]: [Amendment No. 65 had been retabled as Amendment No. 73A.]