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Companies Bill [Lords]

The issue has come back to the House because the other place rejected Government amendments made in the Commons. We are certainly pleased that the Government are giving way on the issue. I congratulate Baroness Noakes and our noble Friends for persevering on the point. The amendments would relate the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to the professional oversight board of the Financial Reporting Council. The issue was comprehensively debated by their lordships, so I do not want to rerun the technical ins and outs about whether our amendments will aid that disclosure, as we believe—or possibly not, as Lord Sainsbury suggested. However, to keep the matter simple and principles-based, as there is mainly agreement, we note that under the combined code audit committees have to review the effectiveness of their audit firm annually. There is growing debate, however, on broadening the base of auditors, so that it encompasses not just the big four, but a wider spectrum of firms. For those reasons and others, it is in everyone’s interests that non-executive directors who sit on audit committees should receive the best advice on their auditors that is available. Lord Sainsbury noted that, over the summer, the oversight board had consulted on the subject of disclosure by the audit inspection unit, and that it is likely to report on the results soon. Our concern was that the consultation had not been drafted widely enough to cover the subject of the amendments. We appreciate that the amendment is not the end of the matter—it will need to be looked into again—but we are pleased that such a review will start from the basis of disclosure.