HL Deb 23 July 1973 vol 344 cc1582-4

[Nos. 38 to 40]

Clause 35, page 29, line 20, leave out "director, controller or manager" and insert "controller"

Clause 35, page 29, 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"

Clause 35, page 29, 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".

THE EARL OF LIMERICK

My Lords, I beg to move that this House doth agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 38, and, with leave, with this we could consider Nos. 39, 40, and later Amendment 56. Clause 35 has been criticised as being nonsensical so far as it required managers and directors to notify the insurance company which employed them of their appointment to those positions or of the cessation of such appointments. The clause was defended on the ground that the notification was really 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. 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 Amendment No. 38 accordingly removes those particular requirements, while No. 39 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 in the sense of Clause 2(2)(c) is different. Although his intention to acquire control should have been submitted to the Department for approval, the intention 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)(c)(ii) and 2(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. Amendment No. 38, therefore, leaves the requirements unchanged in the case of controllers.

Amendment No. 40 is consequential. It re-states the duty of the company to notify the Department in the various cases. Amendment No. 56 to the offences and penalties clause rectifies an omission in identifying the circumstances in which a default in compliance with Sec- tion 35 may not be an offence. I beg to move.

Moved, That this House doth agree with the Commons in the said Amendments.—(The Earl of Limerick.)