Part of Financial Services (Banking Reform) Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 2:00 pm on 16 April 2013.
Cathy Jamieson
Shadow Minister (Treasury)
2:00,
16 April 2013
One of the things I have learned over my years in politics is that when there is a small victory over the Government, or a movement from them, it might be best to thank them for what they have done, make a quick point about where they have not gone far enough and then move on, lest I tempt the Minister to retreat in any way from what he has introduced, although I am sure that he would not.
My hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham East, who was not able to be with us for the full sitting of the Committee this morning and who would in other circumstances have been speaking about the new clauses, may well nudge me if I say too much and tempt fate in any way, because he has done a lot of the work in bringing this issue to a Committee, notwithstanding the fact that I have spoken about it this morning.
I want to make a couple of points briefly about new Clause 6. We tabled it because we wanted to see greater transparency; we wanted to ensure that the shareholders were actively engaged. I heard what the Minister said about the consultation. I am pleased that, although he is not accepting the new clause, he will bring forward an Amendment that will make a difference. I am sure that he listened to the consultation, in particular on issues about who was involved, what advice was given, who appointed them and so on.
We proposed new clause 7 because we believe it is important that employees should have the opportunity to be consulted and involved in the process. I would have liked to see the Minister go slightly further in ensuring that employees had representation on boards, but I am pleased to hear that he is at least not resistant to the idea. He seems to be open to the idea of employees’ opinions being taken on board. He referred to the importance of transparency and the opportunity to bring forward further changes that will require companies to state whether they have sought, and how they have sought, those views and to have that published. I would have liked to see more in that context, but I accept that movement has been indicated this afternoon.
New clause 10 addresses issues of short-termism. The Minister mentioned some difficulty with the technical aspects of the new clause’s potential to do what we hoped to see. I am interested to hear the Minister talk about the need on more occasions for a longer period of deferral depending on the type of business, and deferral of capture time. We would certainly not want a situation that precluded any of that happening if it were important.
If the Minister has not listened entirely to everything we have said during the debate, he seems to have listened further to us and partly to others on these critical clauses. I welcome that fact, although he has not gone as far as we would have liked. I am sure there will be opportunities for further debate. However, at this time I beg to ask leave to withdraw the motion.
A parliamentary bill is divided into sections called clauses.
Printed in the margin next to each clause is a brief explanatory `side-note' giving details of what the effect of the clause will be.
During the committee stage of a bill, MPs examine these clauses in detail and may introduce new clauses of their own or table amendments to the existing clauses.
When a bill becomes an Act of Parliament, clauses become known as sections.
As a bill passes through Parliament, MPs and peers may suggest amendments - or changes - which they believe will improve the quality of the legislation.
Many hundreds of amendments are proposed by members to major bills as they pass through committee stage, report stage and third reading in both Houses of Parliament.
In the end only a handful of amendments will be incorporated into any bill.
The Speaker - or the chairman in the case of standing committees - has the power to select which amendments should be debated.
A parliamentary bill is divided into sections called clauses.
Printed in the margin next to each clause is a brief explanatory `side-note' giving details of what the effect of the clause will be.
During the committee stage of a bill, MPs examine these clauses in detail and may introduce new clauses of their own or table amendments to the existing clauses.
When a bill becomes an Act of Parliament, clauses become known as sections.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
