ADMINISTRATION ORDERS (Hansard, 25 July 1990)

§ The Solicitor-General
I beg to move amendment No. 19, in page 12, leave out line 28 and insert
'relates to the non-payment of charges incurred by the debtor after the making of the order or is unconnected with non-payment by him of any charges.'.

§ Madam Deputy Speaker
With this we shall discuss Government amendment No. 20.

§ The Solicitor-General
These amendments arise from a matter that we debated in some detail in Committee. Amendment No. 19 simply provides that, in administration orders in bankruptcy, in so far as debts are incurred in relation to public utilities after the administration order has been made it will be possible for that public utility to withdraw supply. It is a matter wholly separate from the safeguards for consumers and relates to the sensible management of administration.
Amendment No. 20 deals only with the renaming of British Gas plc.

§ Mr. Alex Carlile
I raised the matter in Committee. I have discussed it with Mr. David Linton, who is the chief legal adviser to MANWEB. I am grateful to the Government, as are MANWEB and similar undertakings, for the care that has been taken in bringing forward the amendment.