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Company Law Reform Bill [HL]

I notice that it says under this group of amendments that my noble friend Lord Razzall and I would oppose the Question that Clauses 774 to 788 stand part of the Bill. That was designed as a probing procedure to establish the Government’s position with regard to this part of the Bill. As I said at Second Reading, we accept that there is a need for a fast-track mechanism for reforming parts of company legislation. I echo the noble Lord, Lord Hodgson. Whether we like it or not—those of us who are interested in company law and reform do not—1985 to 2006 is a long time. Company and commercial practices develop much more rapidly than that. Certainly matters at the more technical end of company legislation, such as what needs to be in accounts, what needs to be in directors’ reports and so on, develop relatively quickly. There is a proven case for a form of fast-track reform. The issues surround how parliamentary scrutiny over such measures will work, how consultation will work, how wide it will be and so on. From the point of view of the principle of a fast-track procedure, we support it. We did not think that this was the right way to go about it. I look forward to hearing what the Minister has to say.