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Companies Bill [Lords]

We cannot support new clause 2, because it would relegate the business review to a tick-box exercise, with the unacceptably high risk that it would be of poor quality. Worst of all, the amendment could put some companies at risk, because the information that they are required to disclose, while having no relevance whatsoever to corporate social responsibility reporting, may give out vital commercial information. I am surprised about that, given the example of Huntingdon Life Sciences. Companies working with or supplying that company, and its customers, have been targeted through no fault of their own having carried out perfectly legal operations. Other companies will be worried by the danger in which the amendment puts them. That potentially negative impact cannot be in the interests of the members of the company for whom the report is ultimately intended, nor in the interests of the company’s employees. Surely that is not what the Government intend. Leaving aside the atrocious way in which they have introduced the amendment, even worse is how it weakens the business review by detracting from its focus on corporate social responsibility and its main function as a report to the members of the company so that it becomes a much broader report for a much broader audience. Until now, the Minister had always said that that was a dangerous road to take. Let me turn to the issues raised by the hon. Member for Hemsworth (Jon Trickett). I fully appreciate what hon. Members are trying to achieve in new clauses 1, 2 and 75, but I have some concerns. Widening the purpose of the business review to expand its remit so that it is not only for existing members but for potential investors and customers would weaken, not strengthen, it. The review is designed to be a core narrative on the company, which may include a warts and all assessment by directors in which they consider difficult challenges that lie ahead. Many companies are in industries which, by their nature, have a big impact on the environment—for example, aircraft operators. Surely the most valuable business review for members will be one in which directors can set out not only their successes but their failures and future challenges regarding corporate social responsibility. It is vital to cover aspects where things are not going well if we are to see an overall improvement in this field. The danger of widening the business review’s purpose from being a narrative for members to one for potential investors and customers is that it will stop being a narrative and start to become a sales brochure in which, like it or not, positives will be accentuated and negatives may risk being downplayed. Directors may ultimately face a conflict of interest between producing the best business review for their members and the best business review for a broader audience. The review exists to enable members to hold directors to account. It is a powerful tool and we should not weaken it, as amendment No.821 and the new clause risk doing.