Clause 5 - Short title, commencement and extent
Co-operatives and CommunityBenefit Societies Bill
3:30 pm
Mr Gareth Thomas (Harrow West, Labour)
I congratulate my hon. Friend on the way in which he has presented the Bill thus far. Amendment No. 7 is not intended as a wrecking amendment. I tabled it in the spirit of probing and seeking to advance the reform of industrial and provident society law for Northern Irish co-operatives and community benefit societies.
At the outset, I should say that I have had the opportunity to meet my hon. Friend the Member for Dudley, South (Mr. Pearson), who is the Northern Ireland Minister with responsibility for this area. As hon. Members who study such things know, he announced a review of industrial and provident society legislation as it affects Northern Ireland in November.
Nevertheless, my concern is that, given the Act last year and what we hope will become an Act this year, Northern Irish co-ops and community benefit societies will substantially lag behind in the process of legislative reform in comparison with other societies, given the increasing recognition of the importance of social enterprises and community organisations that want to use the asset lock and other modernisation provisions in the Bill. Those same issues affect Northern Irish societies, and surely we should be seeking to amend the legislation as it affects them as a matter of some urgency. Why should they be discriminated against in comparison with their fellow competitive societies in England, Wales and Scotland?
It is worth flagging up the potential that social enterprises and community organisations in Northern
Ireland have for bringing communities together. They are a mechanism for bridge building. In the Northern Irish context, that is an important additional element to the benefits that social enterprises and community organisations such as co-operatives can bring.
I recognise that there is a willingness in the Northern Ireland Office to consider how reform can be progressed. I hope that my hon. Friend the Minister will be able to set out what discussions her Department has had with the Northern Ireland Office. I hope that she will commit to putting the power of the Treasury behind the Northern Ireland Office's reform agenda and perhaps move the reform process into the fast lane as opposed to the medium-fast lane, where it currently appears to be.
As I said, amendment No. 7 is probing in spirit. Nevertheless, I hope that my hon. Friend will be able to reassure me that her Department hopes also to reform Northern Irish legislation.