§ [The references are to Bill No. (18).]
§ Clause 2, page 2, line 13, after ("may") insert ("unless the company satisfies the court that the requirements are unreasonable")
§ Clause 2, Page 2, line 26, leave out front ("and") to ("may") in line 28 and insert ("upon application being made by the Board in that behalf, the court, unless it is satisfied by the company that no such default has been made,")
§ THE LORD CHANCELLORMy Lords, I beg to move that this House doth agree with the Commons in their Amendments. Your Lordships will recollect the nature of the Bill, and the Amendments which have been made in another place are of a similar character. Clause 2 of the Bill provides the machinery which enables the Board of Trade to obtain further information as to the solvency of a company whose financial position is, in the opinion of the Board of Trade, unsound. You will remember that under subsection (1) of the clause the Board of Trade may, by notice, ask a company for further accounts and explanations in order to bring the financial position of the company up to a date mentioned in the notice, and subsection (2) provides that if the company fail to comply with such a notice the Board of Trade may apply to the Court for an order that the notice shall be complied with. Further, by subsection (3), if default is made by a company in complying with such an order of the Court to give information, the Board of Trade may make a further application to the Court asking either for leave to present a petition to wind the company up upon the ground of such default, or for power to appoint an inspector to investigate the affairs of the company.
The British Insurance Association, who have co-operated with the Government in preparing this Bill, requested 146 the Board of Trade to insert the two Amendments on the Order Paper in order that it might be clear upon the face of the Bill that on any application to the Court under subsection (2) or subsection (3) the company will have an opportunity of appearing and showing cause why the order should not be made. I need hardly say there never was any suggestion that a company should not have this right and the rules to be made under Clause 3 will in any case so provide, but having regard to the representations made to us there is no objection to the position being made quite clear in the Bill. It is far better that, it should be made clear now rather than that there should be litigation in the future. Accordingly the two Amendments were moved by the Government in the Standing Committee, they were carried, and there is really no controversy in the matter. I beg to move.
§ Moved, That this House doth agree with the Commons in the said Amendments.—(The Lord Chancellor.)
§ On Question, Motion agreed to.