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Company Law Reform Bill [HL]

In opposing that Clause 681 should stand part of the Bill, I seek to remove the power of the Secretary of State to make regulations requiring documents to be delivered to the registrar by electronic means. The clause gives power to the Secretary of State to make regulations, by the affirmative resolution procedure, requiring companies to deliver documents to the registrar by electronic means if the registrar has published rules setting out the detailed requirements for such delivery. While we support the provision in Clause 682 for a voluntary procedure for electronic delivery of documents, we consider that it is disproportionate for companies—especially small companies—to be required to make the investment in the technology required to prepare and file documents electronically, or to engage professionals to do so on their behalf. We see no benefit in this provision. If my opposition to the clause were to be successful, references to Clause 681 elsewhere in the Bill—for example, in Clause 684(1)(b)—would need to be deleted.