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Debate on bill on Tuesday, 17 October 2006, in the House of Commons.

Companies Bill (HL)

Companies Bill (HL). Report stage first day.

Secondary information

Type
Parliamentary proceeding
Reference
450 c761-842 
Session
2005-06
Department
Department of Trade and Industry
Legislative stage
Report stage
Procedure
New clauses
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
Related items
Proceeding contributions
Patrick Hall | 450 c762 (Link to this contribution) I am relieved that, at last, we can get on to the matters of substance in which many members of the ...
Baroness Hodge of Barking | 450 c762 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend raises issues that are of huge concern to many hundreds of thousands of people outsid...
Show all contributions (128)
Patrick Hall | 450 c761 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.
Speaker | 450 c761-2 (Link to this contribution) With this, it will be convenient to discuss the following amendments: No. 2, in page 79, line 1, le...
Jonathan Djanogly | 450 c768 (Link to this contribution) To put it briefly, we have tabled the amendment because the Conservative party believes that small p...
Jim Cousins | 450 c767-8 (Link to this contribution) Perhaps the hon. Gentleman will tell the House how his amendment, No. 392, which would qualify the r...
Jonathan Djanogly | 450 c769 (Link to this contribution) I certainly agree that a successful company will have regard to many of the items set out in the lis...
Patrick Hall | 450 c769 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman conceded in Committee and today that successful companies do these things anyway,...
Lord Redwood | 450 c768 (Link to this contribution) I remind the House that I have declared my interest as a company director in the register. Taking f...
Jonathan Djanogly | 450 c769 (Link to this contribution) No. I shall finish my point. If the audience is a campaigning body, the Government’s tactics seem to...
Jonathan Djanogly | 450 c769 (Link to this contribution) I shall make progress. The Government change their viewpoint, depending on the audience.
Patrick Hall | 450 c762-3 (Link to this contribution) That is entirely up to the official Opposition, as my right hon. Friend knows. I was reflecting on ...
Patrick Hall | 450 c763-4 (Link to this contribution) That is an important point, and good businesses do approach such matters in that way. What we are tr...
Mike Weir | 450 c763 (Link to this contribution) I agree with the hon. Gentleman. I note that he said that the clause is pro-business. Given the chan...
Patrick Hall | 450 c764-5 (Link to this contribution) Several of the objectives, such as looking after the environment and caring about one’s employees, a...
Patrick Hall | 450 c765-6 (Link to this contribution) Indeed, British companies have to obey British law. The provision would put the obligation at the ce...
Lord Redwood | 450 c765 (Link to this contribution) I am keen that companies should do their bit for the environment, but can the hon. Gentleman explain...
Patrick Hall | 450 c766-7 (Link to this contribution) That indicates some of the difficulties that the Conservative party has on this issue. Frankly, to r...
Jonathan Djanogly | 450 c766 (Link to this contribution) I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving me the opportunity to explain what he has misconstrued. I ment...
Jonathan Djanogly | 450 c767 (Link to this contribution) I declare my interests as they appear in the Register of Members’ Interests. After seven years of co...
Lord Redwood | 450 c777 (Link to this contribution) I have much sympathy with the hon. Lady’s aims and with the idea that good directors should do as th...
Sarah McCarthy-Fry | 450 c777 (Link to this contribution) I do not want to pre-empt tomorrow’s discussion on the business review aspect of the Bill, but I bel...
Lord Deben | 450 c777 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Lady and I agree about many things. Why does she believe that the Government turned their b...
Sarah McCarthy-Fry | 450 c777 (Link to this contribution) I could not agree more. Putting a stronger emphasis on action and encouraging a more active approach...
John McDonnell | 450 c776;450 c776-7 (Link to this contribution) One of the points that companies make is that they want a level playing field. Those that develop go...
Sarah McCarthy-Fry | 450 c776 (Link to this contribution) I am more than happy to praise companies that implement corporate social responsibility. I was in Gh...
Michael Fabricant | 450 c776 (Link to this contribution) By contrast, will the hon. Lady take the opportunity to praise the work of Waitrose, part of the Joh...
Sarah McCarthy-Fry | 450 c774-6 (Link to this contribution) Unlike many hon. Members present, I was not fortunate enough to serve on the Standing Committee, but...
Jim Cousins | 450 c777 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend acknowledge that the new clause would require directors to consider ““significan...
Sarah McCarthy-Fry | 450 c777 (Link to this contribution) The right hon. Gentleman reads far too much into the new clause. The word ““endeavour”” is important...
David Howarth | 450 c771 (Link to this contribution) May I ask the hon. Gentleman the question that I asked the Committee, which is how can guidance in a...
Jonathan Djanogly | 450 c770-1 (Link to this contribution) My right hon. Friend puts his point strongly. As I said at the outset, the Government are trying to ...
Jonathan Djanogly | 450 c771 (Link to this contribution) I am not saying that the guidance should be statutory; I am saying that an obligation to provide gui...
Baroness Hodge of Barking | 450 c769 (Link to this contribution) I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving way. I shall explain the Government’s view when I respond to t...
Lord Deben | 450 c769 (Link to this contribution) Should not my hon. Friend bring home to the Minister the point that the measure has been got togethe...
Jonathan Djanogly | 450 c769 (Link to this contribution) In the puerile terms of the Minister’s question, the answer is no. Do we have sympathy with the conc...
David Howarth | 450 c772 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Member for Bedford (Patrick Hall) has already raised those accusations. The question is wha...
Jonathan Djanogly | 450 c771-2 (Link to this contribution) I think that I gave the Minister a list of about 45 in Committee and I will leave it at that. We ar...
Jonathan Djanogly | 450 c772-4 (Link to this contribution) With respect, the hon. Member for Bedford was not supporting my point. The hon. Member for Cambridge...
Baroness Hodge of Barking | 450 c797 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.
David Howarth | 450 c791 (Link to this contribution) Will the Solicitor-General give way?
Mike O'Brien | 450 c791-2 (Link to this contribution) I regret that I cannot give way because of the time. I apologise. We have provided for shareholders...
Jim Cousins | 450 c798 (Link to this contribution) I am following my right hon. Friend’s arguments on these complex issues as closely as I can under th...
Speaker | 450 c797 (Link to this contribution) With this it will be convenient to discuss the following: Government new clause 73—Quasi-loans to d...
Baroness Hodge of Barking | 450 c797-8 (Link to this contribution) Chapter 4 of part 10 is designed to deal with situations in which there is a requirement for prior s...
Mike O'Brien | 450 c791 (Link to this contribution) The amendment does deal with directors’ conflicts of interest. Our aim is that directors should seek...
Jonathan Djanogly | 450 c791 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman makes an important point, which I accept. The Law Society, among others, has poin...
David Howarth | 450 c791 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Gentleman accept that one of the advantages of amendment No. 402, and one of the reaso...
Austin Mitchell | 450 c804 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is becoming excessive in his moderation. Unless the law requires companies to take ac...
Jim Cousins | 450 c804-5 (Link to this contribution) That is the case, and a future Government may have to consider the issues and impose a legal framewo...
Baroness Hodge of Barking | 450 c805 (Link to this contribution) I shall reply briefly as I know that Members are anxious to get on with other matters. The hon. Mem...
Austin Mitchell | 450 c807 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move amendment No. 761, in page 71, line 10, at end insert ‘and domiciled in the United Kin...
Speaker | 450 c807 (Link to this contribution) With this it will be convenient to discuss the following amendments: No. 762, in page 71, line 11, ...
Austin Mitchell | 450 c807-8 (Link to this contribution) The principles of amendments Nos. 761 and 762, which are in my name and those of my hon. Friends, ar...
Jonathan Djanogly | 450 c800-2 (Link to this contribution) We now move on to a patchwork of technical clauses, and I shall address them in the order in which t...
Baroness Hodge of Barking | 450 c798-800 (Link to this contribution) I will be happy to write to my hon. Friend when I have looked at Hansard in detail. If the company t...
Jim Cousins | 450 c803-4 (Link to this contribution) I speak to amendment No. 757 tabled by myself and my hon. Friends the Members for Great Grimsby (Mr....
David Howarth | 450 c802-3 (Link to this contribution) I do not want to detain the House by going through the amendments one by one. I am happy to go along...
David Howarth | 450 c780-2 (Link to this contribution) The example that occurred in practice was precisely an attempt to sue a director for selling a busin...
Jim Cousins | 450 c782-3 (Link to this contribution) I shall be brief, and I shall start by speaking about the position adopted by my right hon. Friend t...
David Howarth | 450 c779-80 (Link to this contribution) There are often examples, which we have discussed on the Floor of the House, of a company that think...
David Howarth | 450 c779 (Link to this contribution) Not at all. The problem is in the word ““minimise””, which means to make as little as possible. Gree...
Patrick Hall | 450 c779 (Link to this contribution) Trying to minimise significant adverse impact on the environment is overridden by the primary duty o...
David Howarth | 450 c778 (Link to this contribution) I begin with the point that the hon. Member for Huntingdon (Mr. Djanogly) made about whether clause ...
Mike Weir | 450 c778-9 (Link to this contribution) I am interested in the hon. Gentleman’s comments. Yesterday, we held a debate on a switch to green t...
Lord Redwood | 450 c783 (Link to this contribution) This has been a very short debate, but is it not clear that the Minister and the hon. Members for Be...
Sarah McCarthy-Fry | 450 c777-8;450 c778 (Link to this contribution) I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention—he raised a point that I should have made. ““Significan...
Patrick Hall | 450 c790 (Link to this contribution) We have had an instructive debate on some important matters, and I am pleased that some finely balan...
Jonathan Djanogly | 450 c790 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move amendment No. 389, in page 78, line 23, leave out subsection (3).
Speaker | 450 c790 (Link to this contribution) With this it will be convenient to discuss the following amendments: No. 390, in page 78, line 24, ...
Jonathan Djanogly | 450 c790-1 (Link to this contribution) Given the lack of time, due not least to the way in which today has been arranged, I will simply say...
Mike Weir | 450 c785 (Link to this contribution) I am pleased to be able to make a short contribution to the debate. I was pleased to hear the hon. M...
David Howarth | 450 c785 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman was talking about a company’s duties. However, he then switched to talking about ...
Mike Weir | 450 c785-7 (Link to this contribution) I am well aware of that, but the directors are the controlling mind of the company. I think that the...
Baroness Hodge of Barking | 450 c787-90 (Link to this contribution) This has been an extremely good debate. I thank Labour Members, especially my hon. Friends the Membe...
Lord Deben | 450 c783-5 (Link to this contribution) I do not think that producing a measure that is capable of so many different interpretations will so...
Jim Cousins | 450 c783 (Link to this contribution) The right hon. Gentleman deserves credit for trying to think clearly. Shortly, he will have to work ...
David Howarth | 450 c811-2 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s intervention, but he is confusing a duty with a right. We are...
Austin Mitchell | 450 c811 (Link to this contribution) It is good to see the Liberal propensity to sit on both sides of the fence given full exhibition by ...
David Howarth | 450 c810 (Link to this contribution) We are now faced with three different issues. The first was raised by the hon. Member for Great Grim...
Austin Mitchell | 450 c810 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman will agree that our amendment becomes even more necessary, given that we are to g...
Jonathan Djanogly | 450 c808-10 (Link to this contribution) First, I will address amendment No. 761. The suggestion is that if a company has only one director, ...
Baroness Hodge of Barking | 450 c813 (Link to this contribution) I am sure other hon. Members are envious of my hon. Friend’s title. ““Great Barking”” or ““Great Bur...
Baroness Hodge of Barking | 450 c813 (Link to this contribution) I shall begin by responding to the issues raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Great Grimsby (Mr....
John McDonnell | 450 c812-3 (Link to this contribution) I support amendments Nos. 761 and 762. Reading clause 155, I was almost overjoyed when I saw the con...
Jonathan Djanogly | 450 c830 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman is right that I do not want to create new case law, and that the amendment’s atte...
David Howarth | 450 c830 (Link to this contribution) I appreciate the attempt, but the question is whether it is entirely successful. Amendment No. 416(...
Jonathan Djanogly | 450 c827-8 (Link to this contribution) Yes, but as I explained to the Solicitor-General, although the Government are maintaining that the c...
David Howarth | 450 c828-30 (Link to this contribution) I am surprised that so many Members are present now that we have got on to Foss v. Harbottle, the he...
Mike O'Brien | 450 c827 (Link to this contribution) I am interested that the briefing from the outside body suggests that we are codifying. The aim is t...
Mike O'Brien | 450 c832-3 (Link to this contribution) I do not necessarily accept that it would be that easy. The hon. Gentleman should look at the detail...
Mike O'Brien | 450 c831-2 (Link to this contribution) It is always possible that there will be exceptional circumstances. In effect, however, those people...
Jonathan Djanogly | 450 c832 (Link to this contribution) My point is that the Minister is speaking about individuals winning or losing—as in America—or about...
Mike O'Brien | 450 c830-1 (Link to this contribution) I thank the hon. Members for Huntingdon (Mr. Djanogly) and for Cambridge (David Howarth) for their c...
Jonathan Djanogly | 450 c831 (Link to this contribution) Our fear in relation to this provision concerns costs. If an action group persuaded 300 of its membe...
Jonathan Djanogly | 450 c815 (Link to this contribution) There is an important angle to this. If a young individual came to the Minister and said, ““Look, I ...
Baroness Hodge of Barking | 450 c815 (Link to this contribution) I will look at that point. My understanding is that directorships are increasingly being given as ch...
Austin Mitchell | 450 c815-6 (Link to this contribution) I had hoped that my right hon. Friend the Minister would make a plea to me on bended knee, but she f...
Baroness Hodge of Barking | 450 c816 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move amendment No. 255, in page 74, line 6 , leave out from ‘company’ to end of line 7 and ...
Jonathan Djanogly | 450 c824-7 (Link to this contribution) For the first time today, we have a decent amount of time for Opposition amendments—I suppose that I...
Speaker | 450 c816 (Link to this contribution) With this it will be convenient to discuss the following amendments: Government amendments Nos. 256 ...
Baroness Hodge of Barking | 450 c816 (Link to this contribution) This package of Government amendments follows from the Commons Committee’s consideration of where a ...
Jonathan Djanogly | 450 c816-7 (Link to this contribution) The Government have complained about the lack of hon. Members in the House. Apart from the fact that...
Baroness Hodge of Barking | 450 c813 (Link to this contribution) The service address will be at the company’s registered office. The Bill provides elsewhere for the ...
John McDonnell | 450 c813 (Link to this contribution) Could someone—anyone—in the House explain clause 155(2) to me? It states:"““This requirement is met ...
Austin Mitchell | 450 c813 (Link to this contribution) In that case, why is it not important that the service address be in the United Kingdom so that UK l...
Baroness Hodge of Barking | 450 c814 (Link to this contribution) The answer is that if we tried to legislate on that—I look to the Box to confirm that I am correct—w...
Elfyn Llwyd | 450 c814 (Link to this contribution) If a company were set up with a corporation sole as the single director, and if something went awry ...
Baroness Hodge of Barking | 450 c813-4 (Link to this contribution) I can reassure my hon. Friend on that. Amendment No. 762 attempts to address the point. The hon. Mem...
Austin Mitchell | 450 c814 (Link to this contribution) I love the sound of this sole music. It still does not answer explain why one of the directors—a cor...
Baroness Hodge of Barking | 450 c814-5 (Link to this contribution) I will write because I do not want to mislead hon. Members, but my view would be that an individual ...
Baroness Hodge of Barking | 450 c814 (Link to this contribution) I will write to the hon. Gentleman on that.
John McDonnell | 450 c814 (Link to this contribution) May I have a letter as well? I was brought up a Catholic, so I do not completely understand, but I h...
Mike O'Brien | 450 c833-6 (Link to this contribution) It will be clearer and more accessible in the sense that the constraints on someone using it in a wa...
Jonathan Djanogly | 450 c833 (Link to this contribution) The Minister says that the procedure will be clearer and more accessible. One of our concerns is tha...
Mike O'Brien | 450 c836-7;450 c836-8 (Link to this contribution) If the hon. Gentleman had been here earlier in the debate, he would realise that I do not agree with...
James Gray | 450 c836 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the Minister for giving way, but I know that he wants to read the note that his col...
Jonathan Djanogly | 450 c838 (Link to this contribution) Under these provisions, there will be a wider variety of people who can be sued, it will be possible...
Jonathan Djanogly | 450 c768-9 (Link to this contribution) My right hon. Friend makes an important point. It can be argued that the law would not be expanded. ...
Speaker | 450 c823-4 (Link to this contribution) With this it will be convenient to discuss the following amendments: No. 413, in page 121, line 24,...
Jonathan Djanogly | 450 c823 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move amendment No. 412, in page 121, line 21,  leave out ‘or proposed’.
Jonathan Djanogly | 450 c764 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman will appreciate that businesses are worried that if they are to be able to show t...
David Howarth | 450 c792 (Link to this contribution) The point that I wanted to make was that amendment No. 402 tightens the law by adding the requiremen...
Patrick Hall | 450 c780 (Link to this contribution) May I remind the hon. Gentleman that he made the point clearly in Committee that such actions cannot...
David Howarth | 450 c810-1 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman should hang around for a bit, as he might find that that is no longer the case. T...
Subjects
Accountability Charities Company law Companies Directors Age Business Conflict of interests Fraud Functions Ethics Membership Loans Registration Shareholders
Legislation
Companies Bill (HL) 2005-06
Link
View this Parliamentary proceeding on www.publications.parliament.uk