§ Mr. Anthony GrantI beg to move Amendment No. 25, in page 31, line 20, leave out 'director, controller or manager' and insert 'controller'.
§ Mr. SpeakerWith this we can discuss also Amendments Nos. 26, 27 and 34.
§ Mr. GrantClause 35 was criticised in Committee as being nonsensical so far as it required managers and directors to notify the insurance company of their appointment to those positions or of the cessation of such appointments. The clause was defended on the ground that the notification was intended to inform the company of the "other matters" to be prescribed under Clause 35(1). These other matters would be predominantly personal matters, information on which only the individuals concerned could provide.
393 We accept, however, that it is unnecessary to require directors and managers to notify the company of their appointment or the cessation of their appointment and the first of these amendments accordingly removes those particular requirements while the second retains the requirement that they should give the company the "prescribed matters" so that it may pass them to the Department.
The case of the controller is different. Although his intention to acquire control should have been submitted to the Department for approval, it would not necessarily be realised. The Department therefore needs notification when it has been achieved. This would not necessarily become known immediately to the company, for example if control were fragmented as envisaged in Clause 2(2) and Clause 5. But the company needs to know so that it may observe other requirements of the Bill, for example those of Clause 10. For the same reason the company needs to know when control has been relinquished. The first amendment therefore leaves the requirements unchanged in the case of controllers.
The third amendment is consequential. It restates the duty of the company to notify the Department in the various cases.
The fourth amendment rectifies an omission in identifying the circumstances in which a default in compliance may not be an offence.
The amendments stem from our discussion in Committee.
§ Amendment agreed to.
§
Amendments made: No. 26, in page 31, line 25, at end insert:
'; and a person who becomes a director or manager of any such insurance company shall, before the expiration of the period of seven days beginning with the day next following that on which he does so, notify the insurance company in writing of such matters as may be prescribed'.
§
No. 27, in page 31, line 27, leave out from 'shall' to end of line 31 and insert:
'give written notice to the Secretary of State of the fact that any person has become or ceased to be a director, controller or manager of the company and of any matter of which any such person is required to notify the company under subsection (1) above; and that notice shall be given before the expiration of the period of fourteen days beginning with the day next following that on which that fact or matter comes to the company's knowledge'—[Mr.Anthony Grant.]