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Companies Act 2006 (Commencement No. 3, Consequential Amendments, Transitional Provisions and Savings) Order 2007

I thank the Minister for his explanation of this order. I was not involved in the Companies Bill as it passed through the House and, therefore, do not have the background that some other noble Lords here have. I know that it was a long process involving a great deal of time and knowledge. Even this order is 52 pages long and, as the Minister said, is rather complicated and includes important matters such as directors’ duties, annual general meetings, pre-emption rights and even political donations. I note that the order requires a number of transitional adaptations. It seems unfortunate how the transitional arrangements for the implementation in stages of the major, complex changes in the Companies Act have worked out in practice for real businesses and business people, particularly directors, who wish to understand what is going on and how and when the provisions will apply. I would be interested to hear from the Minister how the new department is communicating the staged application of these very detailed regulations to the business community. How are otherwise very busy company secretaries, particularly in medium-size private businesses, to be kept in touch with these complex changes? As the noble Lord, Lord De Mauley, asked, how many more implementing orders are there likely to be, and when will they be made? Given that the business community has in many ways already adjusted to, and is ready for, the changes in the Companies Act, perhaps there is a need to get on with implementing it as a whole rather than this awkward, complicated and many-phased approach.