HL Deb 01 November 1976 vol 376 cc969-70

[Nos. 10 to 16.]

Clause 7, page 6, leave out lines 4 to 9 and insert— '(i) is or has been a director of a company which has at any time gone into liquidation (whether while he was a director or subsequently) and was insolvent at that time; and (ii) is or has been a director of another such company which has gone into liquidation within five years of the date on which the first-mentioned company went into liquidation; and'

Clause 7, page 6, line 16, after 'period' insert beginning with the date of the Order and'.

Clause 7, page 6, line 18, leave out from '(2)' to 'is' in line 19 and insert 'In the case of a person who is or has been a director of a company which has gone into liquidation as aforesaid and'

Clause 7, page 6, line 44, leave out 'this section' and insert 'subsection (1) above'.

Clause 7, page 7, line 18, after second 'company' insert '(wherever incorporated)'.

Clause 7, page 7, line 23, leave out from 'of' to 'if' in line 24 and insert' this section a company goes into liquidation'.

Clause 7, page 7, line 31, at end insert— '(9) Subsection (1) above does not apply unless at least one of the companies there mentioned has gone into liquidation after the date of the coming into force of this section; and the conduct to which regard may be had under paragraph (b) of that subsection does not include conduct as director of a company that has gone into liquidation before that date.'

Lord ORAM

My Lords, with the leave of the House I beg to move that this House doth agree with the Commons in their Amendments Nos. 10 to 16 en bloc. The purpose of Amendments Nos. 10, 13 and 15 is to make clearer the original intention of the clause; namely, that for the conditions of Clause 9 (1) (a) to be met, first, the person concerned must be, or have at some time been, a director of at least two companies; secondly, the companies must have gone into liquidation within five years of each other as a result either of a winding-up order made by the court or of the passing of a resolution for voluntary winding-up; and, thirdly, the companies must be insolvent at the date of the winding-up order or resolution for voluntary winding-up.

Amendments Nos. 11, 12 and 14 are also merely drafting Amendments to make clear the original intention of the clause concerning the commencement of the period of disqualification, the jurisdiction of the court where one of the companies is in compulsory liquidation, and the applicability of the clause to foreign companies. The purpose of Amendment No. 16 is to specify the extent to which the clause has retrospective effect. My Lords, I beg to move.

Moved, That this House cloth agree with the Commons in the said Amendments.—(Lord Oram.)

On Question, Motion agreed to.