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Companies Bill [HL]

My Lords, I am grateful for the Minister’s further words. They may have comforted the noble Lord, Lord Razzall, but we have the following problems. The first is that there is a difference between the general public and members. Members are clearly entitled to know what is being done with their money on their behalf. The position of the general public being told is somewhat different. We do not like the idea of reserved powers. I have no doubt that the Minister, with his long and experienced industrial record, does not wish to intervene in these things, but who knows what itchy fingers will follow him on the trigger of this particular gun? The voluntary system is working perfectly well at present and, frankly, the technical suggestions now made for cumulative disclosure, where a fund manager can reveal all his accumulated shareholdings, seem to us to destroy any value that might have been in the procedure in the first place. The Government keep on talking about deregulation. They keep on saying how they want to keep the regulatory burden down, but they keep on ensuring that they pull powers. I am not referring to powers that are necessarily being used now but ones that are there for them to use at some date in the future should they feel they want to use them. I do not think that that is good enough and I wish to test the opinion of the House. On Question, Whether the said amendment(No. 988A) shall be agreed to? Their Lordships divided: Contents, 74; Not-Contents, 133. On Question, Motion agreed to.