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Companies Bill [Lords]

On the hon. Gentleman’s second point, there is no right of appeal but there is always a right of judicial review. To answer his first point, I would draw his attention to subsections (7), (8) and (9), which provide for a system to be set up by which a company has to pass on information subject to the charging of a reasonable fee, and which determine that failure to do so is a crime. It is ironic that some of us have been worried about the extent to which the Bill uses criminal penalties. It is perhaps a legitimate criticism of the Bill that it seems to go first to the criminal law, rather than using it as a last resort. Having listened to the views of the hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme and others, however, I believe that it would be justified, if there were a serious risk that the provision would not be complied with, to back that right with a criminal penalty. The hon. Gentleman is right to think that there might be a connection between closing a register and not wanting information to be passed on. The proposal in new clause 16 is worth while, but it will not be used very often. Indeed, it will be used only in the most extreme circumstances. The main safeguard against its being used too widely is the Secretary of State. The hon. Gentleman says that it puts too much pressure on the Secretary of State, but I disagree. I think that this is just the kind of decision that Secretaries of State are employed to make, and I am sure that if they did not do it very well, their decisions would be subject to judicial review and perhaps also to the scrutiny of the House.