HC Deb 31 October 1986 vol 103 cc598-9

Lords amendment: No. 382, after clause 172, insert the following new clause:—

  1. (1) The Secretary of State may publish information or give advice, or arrange for the publication of information or the giving of advice, in such form and manner as he considers appropriate with respect to—
    1. (a) the operation of this Act and the rules and regulations made under it, including in particular the rights of investors, the duties of authorised persons and the steps to be taken for enforcing those rights or complying with those duties;
    2. (b) any matters relating to the functions of the Secretary of State under this Act or any such rules or regulations;
    3. (c) any other matters about which it appears to him to be desirable to publish information or give advice for the protection of investors or any class of investors.
  2. (2) The Secretary of State may offer for sale copies of information published under this section and may, if he thinks fit, make a reasonable charge for advice given under this section at any person's request.
  3. (3) This section shall not be construed as authorising the disclosure of restricted information within the meaning of section 149 above in any case in which it could not be disclosed apart from the provisions of this section.
  4. (4) The functions to which section 96 above applies shall include the functions of the Secretary of State under this section."

Mr. Howard

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

Mr. Deputy Speaker (Mr. Harold Walker)

With this it will be convenient to take Lords amendments Nos. 506 and 520. I must inform the House that amendment No. 382 involves privilege.

Mr. Howard

The new clause has been prepared in accordance with an undertaking given to a noble Lord on the Opposition Benches. It confers on the Secretary of State the function of publishing information and giving advice about the way in which the Bill operates and other specified matters. The functions will be transferable to the designated agency in the normal way.

Mr. William Cash (Stafford)

This is an extremely helpful provision and I am grateful to my hon. and learned Friend the Minister for explaining how it came about. I had some misgivings when I heard that it arose from an undertaking given to a Member of the Opposition, but in view of the good relationship that we built up in Committee, it would be unfair to dwell on that point.

Will my hon. and learned Friend consider encouraging consultation—which I understand will be with the SIB in this case— between those who will be giving the information and those who will be affected by it? If there is consultation about the manner in which information and advice are to be given before the rules are drawn up, they are more likely to be readily understood by the public, and that is the purpose of the exercise. In practice the provision will prove important, and the more consultation there is before the information and advice are drawn up, the better.

Mr. Gould

I endorse the comments that have been made about the value of the amendment, and I thank the Minister for introducing it. Perhaps, not surprisingly, the provenance of the new clause adds to its charm.

Mr. Howard

As consultation has been our watchword throughout the passage of this legislation, it would be churlish to do anything other than to respond in the most positive fashion to the invitation extended to me by my hon. Friend the Member for Stafford (Mr. Cash). I am delighted that his initation has been endorsed by the hon. Member for Dagenham (Mr. Gould), and I agree with what they have said.

Question put and agreed to. [Special Entry.]

Lords amendments Nos. 383 to 390 agreed to.

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