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Company Law Reform Bill [Lords]

I am sure that the Secretary of State will not fall foul of the usual channels on his side, because he is held in such high esteem by them. There are already 925 clauses for the Committee to scrutinise. Consolidation will mean hundreds more, which outside practitioners in particular will want to scrutinise and which will not have been scrutinised in the other place. May I present a simple proposal to the usual channels, through the Secretary of State? I suggest that the Committee stage be split into two parts, the first between now and the summer recess to deal with the 925 clauses, and the second during the wash-up period. When we return after the recess, we shall have benefited from examining the earlier clauses and will then be able to deal properly with the new clauses for codification.