Clause 77
Company Law Reform Bill [Lords]
1:45 pm
Vera Baird (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs; Redcar, Labour)
May I deal with amendment No. 143 first? We agree that it would be better if the relevant clause contained a complete statement of the various ways in which a company’s registered name can be changed. I therefore agree to consider amendmentNo. 143, which is helpful, and we are grateful for it.
Amendment No. 142 would limit how a company could change its name, but the point of the provisions is to be deregulatory. The amendment would inhibit that purpose by removing part of subsection (1)(a) and all subsection (1)(b). Under subsection (1)(a) as drafted, a company will be able to decide for itself how to change its name. The current position—under which a special resolution is required, except in the circumstances that the hon. Gentleman mentioned, but which the Bill addresses—is unnecessarily regulatory. There is no statutory control on how a company changes the name under which it trades, so why do we need controls on how it changes its registered name?
What is important is that the registered name enables the public to find whatever information there is about the company on the public record, and that they are not misled. Other provisions ensure those desired outcomes, so there is no public need for restrictions on how the company changes its name. I confess that I struggle to understand the injustice that would be done to members who would not know that the name had been changed. I am not sure how realistic that is.
The deregulatory purpose of the Bill is best served by the clause as drafted. I am sure the hon. Gentleman agrees that all unnecessary regulation should be removed, so I hope he will withdraw the amendment.