CODE OF CONDUCT (Hansard, 25 July 1977)

§ Mr. Clinton Davis
I beg to move, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said amendment.

Mr. Deputy Speaker
With this we may take Lords Amendments Nos. 14, 15 and 17.

§ Mr. Davis
These are drafting amendments, to make clear that the Council may revise the code of conduct once it has drawn it up, as it is required to do under Clause 10. The. Council should have this power. Unfortunately, the Interpretation Act enables this to be left unsaid in the case of rules and regulations, but it may not apply in the case of a statement under this clause. Any such revision is subject to the approval of the Secretary of State and, hence, of Parliament.

§ Mr. Clinton Davis
I beg to move, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said amendment.

Mr. Deputy Speaker
With this we may take Lords Amendments Nos. 9 and 10.

§ Mr. Davis
These are essentially drafting amendments to make clear that the code of conduct under this clause and the rules under Clauses 11 and 12 may make different provision for different circumstances, for different classes of insurance business, for example, as well as for different descriptions of broker.

§ Mr. Moate
The Minister might have given us a little more explanation. He said that this was a drafting amendment, but it allows a varation in the terms between one group and another and is rather more than a drafting amendment. The Minister was misusing the phrase. We tend to accept the word of a Minister who says that an amendment is a drafting amendment, and take him on trust. There is therefore an obligation on Ministers to use the term carefully.
The amendments relate to three important clauses. Clause 10 includes the code of conduct, Clause 11 includes the requirements for carrying on a business and Clause 12 includes the rules for the compensation fund and professional indemnity in insurance. These are a series of rules and regulations to be produced after consultation between the Council and the Secretary of State.
There is a case for flexibility in dealing with different-sized firms and classes of business, but I am not sure that I relish the greater flexibility and discretion that is being given to the Council. Rules will be laid down for general brokers who will need a fair amount of professional indemnity insurance and the sole traders, the small life brokers who will need little of such insurance. I am concerned that such powers should be given in this way. This is not a drafting amendment, and unless there is a greater explanation of what it is really about, I 261 do not think that the House should accept it.

§ Mr. Clinton Davis
The hon. Gentleman said that the rules and regulations laid down different requirements for different types of insurance broking business. There should be flexibility, and the amendment provides what was, I believe, originally intended and what has now been translated in order to avoid any ambiguity. The hon. Gentleman made the case for the amendment far more eloquently than I could.