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Companies Bill [Lords]

I declare my interests as they appear in the Register of Members’ Interests. After seven years of consultation and 10 months of Bill process, involving several thousand amendments—650 of them tabled by the Government in the past week—we near the end of the process on the largest Bill in history. One issue that is directly relevant to every group of amendments to be discussed on Report is the timing of implementation. There is much speculation and there are many rumours going round the City and the law firms on that point. It would be most helpful if the Minister could set out the position when the opportunity arises for her to do so. I will speak to our amendments Nos. 392 to 398. As the hon. Member for Bedford (Patrick Hall) said, the issue of directors’ duties to promote the success of the company as set out in clause 173 is the area of the Bill that has probably courted the most controversy. I do not believe that the Government really wanted that when they set out with the Bill, but gradually, possibly over seven years of consultation, they have dug themselves into something of a hole on these provisions, from which they are now finding it difficult to extract themselves. We have seen that in the conflicting messages from Ministers since the Committee. It was interesting to hear the hon. Gentleman say that we are sending out conflicting messages. I suggest that quite the opposite is the case. For example, in an article in the Financial Times of 26 September, the Minister, then at the Labour party conference, was reported as saying that the Government were listening to lobbyists and could still use regulations to increase reporting and behavioural requirements for directors, once the Bill was"““in force and people start understanding it””." On the other hand, the Secretary of State was reported as saying, within 24 hours of the Minister of State’s remarks, that the Government did not intend to introduce any changes on Third Reading. I am therefore slightly confused, not least because, without advising us, the Minister tabled amendments to the provisions on accounts and reports, which we are to discuss tomorrow. The plot thickens yet more. The Minister needs to advise the House whether there is a secret Labour, or perhaps trade union, agenda, or whether two Department of Trade and Industry Ministers are pulling in different directions. Of course, new clause 4, tabled by Labour Back Benchers, creates a third position. Business expects a clear direction from the Government, but in this respect they are not getting it.