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Company Law Reform Bill [HL]

Clause 315 requires quoted companies to disclose on a website the results of all polls taken at a general meeting. That was a clear recommendation of the Company Law Review, which was seeking to achieve increased transparency for shareholders whether as registered members of a company or as indirect investors of decisions taken at general meetings. Consultation through the Modernising Company Law White Paper of July 2002 and the Company Law Reform White Paper of March 2005, followed by consultation on draft clauses in September 2005, showed that this measure was broadly welcomed. The reason for imposing the requirements through company law is to achieve the same level of transparency for all investors in UK incorporated quoted companies, regardless of which exchange they are quoted on. In today’s world, for quoted companies to put that on a website, which all of them must have, cannot be seen as a major cost requirement. In any case, most of them will be doing this as a matter of good practice. Clause 315 agreed to. Clause 316 [Members’ power to require independent report on poll]: