Clause 34 - New companies
Companies (Audit, Investigations and Community Enterprise) Bill [Lords]
11:00 am
Mr Andrew Mitchell (Shadow Minister, Economic Affairs; Sutton Coldfield, Conservative)
I beg to move amendment No. 37, in
clause 34, page 33, line 35, at end add—
'(11) The Secretary of State shall establish a fund to support the cost of organisations setting up and registering as community interest companies.'.
This probing amendment was suggested to me by the Royal National Institute of the Blind. When organisations write to hon. Members on important matters, it is no bad thing to consider them in Committee.
The amendment would require the Secretary of State to establish a fund to support the cost of organisations setting up and registering as community interest companies. I would expect the Minister to ensure that such funds came out of her Department's existing budget.
Many community enterprises play an invaluable role in getting blind, partially sighted and other disabled people for whom it is difficult to find and retain employment into work. However, they have difficulty in obtaining the necessary funding to set up successfully; many funding sources give money only to registered charities and the Bill states that community interest companies are not charities. Therefore, despite the fact that a new type of organisation is being created, they might still struggle to get the necessary funding.
The RNIB therefore submits that to gain the full benefit of creating the new type of company, the Government need to create a fund to support, in certain circumstances, the cost of certain new organisations setting up and registering as community interest companies.
I shall be most grateful if the Minister responds briefly to the amendment, or, if time does not permit, if she writes to me on the matter. In turn, I will write to the RNIB.