Clause 115
Company Law Reform Bill [Lords]
10:30 am
Margaret Hodge (Minister of State (Industry and the Regions), Department of Trade and Industry; Barking, Labour)
Further to the point of order, Mr. Illsley. I can provide clarification. Hon. Members will recall that the reason for our further consolidating other aspects of company law is that there was consensus between all political parties, when the Bill was considered in the House of Lords, that it would make sense to put in one place all the legislation that had an impact. It was decided on the basis of that consensus and with the recognition that the new clauses in question are not ready in the same way as the rest of the clauses are.
We have given an undertaking that we are not, by the consolidation, changing the law, except to make it fit with other clauses. There is no change to existing legislation except in so far as it makes sense to do it in that way. Clearly, there is a limited time frame and we want to get the Bill on the statute book. We think we are being helpful in explaining to hon. Members of all parties that we are introducing the new clauses in Committee; that we want discussions with experts outside the House—particularly the Law Society—and any members of the Committee who want to participate, all through the coming period; and that if, on Report in the House of Commons before the Bill returns to the House of Lords in October, in the spill-over phase, any amendments that have arisen from that discussion can be tabled at that point, in the spirit of consensus. That is the practical way of going ahead, unless we put the new clauses into a new piece of legislation.
I hope that hon. Members will work with us in the spirit of co-operation that we have tried to engender. I am happy to meet Opposition Members of whatever party in the period in September and early October, before we return for Report and Third Reading in the House of Commons, and before the Bill’s subsequent return to the House of Lords, to try to reach agreement on the new clauses. We are not trying to pull a fast one. We are simply trying to make sense of the current legislation and put all company law legislation in one place.