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Companies (Late Filing Penalties) and Limited Liability Partnerships (Filing Periods and Late Filing Penalties) Regulations 2008

My Lords, I will not delay your Lordships long on a day when matters of significant moment have been debated. By and large, these measures are very welcome. There is a clear need to update the fines and penalties for late filing and it is absolutely right that the arrangements should apply to limited liability partnerships in the same way as they applied to limited liability companies. I was reminded that in 1999 I made my maiden speech in this House on the Second Reading of the Limited Liability Partnerships Bill. I am pleased to see that the Companies Act 2006—the noble Baroness referred to our deliberations on it, which were lengthy, I might add—has ensured that this sorely needed form of business enterprise is being widely adopted. The regulations will make them fully on a par with limited liability companies. We support the regulations.