HC Deb 20 May 1963 vol 678 cc161-2

Lords Amendment: In page 11, line 6, leave out from section to "shall" in line 8.

10.10 p.m.

The Minister of State, Board of Trade (Mr. Alan Green)

I beg to move, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said Amendment.

It may be convenient, Mr. Deputy-Speaker, to take certain other Amendments together with this one, as they all hang together and are consequential the one upon the other. Those Amendments are: in line 22, at end insert: (2) The Board of Trade may by statutory instrument make regulations with respect to the form of any notice required or authorised to be delivered or given under the foregoing provisions of this Act. In line 23, leave out "this section" and insert "subsection (1)".

In line 37, leave out "this section" and insert "subsection (1)".

In line 45, leave out "this section" and insert "subsection (1)".

Mr. Deputy-Speaker (Sir Robert Grimston)

Yes, if the House pleases.

Mr. Green

These Amendments extend the power to make regulations, prescribing the form of notices, to all notices which the Bill requires to be delivered to the Registrar of Companies or sent in writing to depositors or prospective depositors. The notices delivered to the Registrar will be put on public files, and they should, therefore, be in such form that the public can readily identify them for what they are.

Secondly, the notices sent to depositors or to prospective depositors are concerned with matters that can be complicated and should, therefore, be in a form which ensures that they contain the right information and set it out as clearly as possible.

These Amendments are designed to secure that the law has the power to ensure this clarification, and I hope that the hon. and learned Member for Kettering (Mr. Mitchison) will agree that they are in line with undertakings that I gave —and for which, I think, he asked—that we should make all these matters as clear as possible to the prospective depositor or, indeed, to the actual depositor when the time comes to implement the Bill.

Mr. G. R. Mitchison (Kettering)

That, Mr. Deputy-Speaker, seems to be sense.

Question put and agreed to.

Subsequent Lords Amendments agreed to.