Former MP for Erewash
I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time. Given the quality of debate today and on Second Reading, and given that the Bill has been published in draft form and has been the subject of extensive consultation outside the House, I believe that it would be for the convenience of the House to move its Third Reading formally.
The hon. Member for Great Grimsby (Mr. Mitchell) is nothing if not consistent; he has made similar remarks throughout our discussion of the Bill. New clause 1 would require a delay of not less than six months between the date of the first notification of the proposed transfer to the members and the date on which they were asked to vote on it. The process takes longer than six months already....
I have a great deal of sympathy for the case that the hon. Lady has made. However, there are three difficulties with new clause 4, so let me suggest another way of achieving its objective. First, the new clause would require the commission to have a new statutory function to administer it. Clearly it does not have that statutory function. Secondly, the new clause applies only to building...
I assure the hon. Lady that the case to which she referred was considered before the Council of Mortgage Lenders' code of practice, which has not been produced in its final form. I also assure her that I, too, will be looking carefully at these matters to ensure that unfairnesses are properly addressed in future.
Contributions to the debate have highlighted the differences of opinion on this subject. My hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth, West (Mr. Butterfill), who moved the amendment, believes that protection for converted building societies is a key issue. I think that the hon. Member for Normanton (Mr. O'Brien) was somewhat confused in his remarks. The amendments do nothing for mutual...
I rather agree with the hon. Gentleman that directors should be prepared to stand up for mutuality. After all, they will be directors of a mutual society so they need to be committed to the concept. But what concerns me about the hon. Gentleman's sentiments is that if the Bill states that someone standing for director has to commit himself to mutuality, how will we know that that is true?...
I am in something of a dilemma. The hon. Member for Great Grimsby (Mr. Mitchell) accused me of speaking for too long when I tried to answer everyone's points; I have now been asked to speak again, so I am not sure what to do. I found the hon. Gentleman's contribution entertaining, not least because he professed himself to be new Labour. Here we are on the first day of a different order—my...
If the hon. Lady would hold her horses, I was coming to that point. The latest communication from the Building Societies Association states that the Association's overriding priority is for the Bill to be enacted as soon as possible The Association is more than content for the Bill to go forward unamended (other than in respect of amendments making technical and drafting corrections)"— the...
