HL Deb 27 October 1981 vol 424 cc1017-8

125 After Clause 56, insert the following new clause:

("Interests to be disregarded.

.—(1) The following interests in shares shall for the purposes of sections (Obligation to notify known interests in voting shares in a public company) to (Obligation to notify particulars of registered ownership of voting shares in a public company) of this Act be disregarded, that is to say—

  1. (a) where any property is held on trust according to the law of England and Wales and any interest in shares is comprised in that property, an interest in reversion or remainder or of a bare trustee or a custodian trustee and any discretionary interest;
  2. (b) where any property is held on trust according to the law of Scotland and any interest in shares is comprised in that property, an interest in fee or of a simple trustee and any discretionary interest;
  3. (c) an interest which subsists by virtue of an authorised unit trust scheme within the meaning of Prevention of Fraud (Investments) Act 1958, a scheme made under section 22 of the Charities Act 1960, section 11 of the Trustee Investments Act 1961 or section 1 of the Administration of Justice Act 1965 or the scheme set out in the Schedule to the Church Funds Investment Measure 1958;
  4. (d) an interest of the Church of Scotland General Trustees or of the Church of Scotland Trust in shares held by them or of any other person in shares held by the said Trustees or Trust otherwise than as simple trustees;
  5. (e) an interest, for the life of himself or another, of a person under a settlement in the case of which the property comprised in the settlement consists of, or includes, shares, and the conditions mentioned in subsection (3) below are satisfied;
  6. (f) an exempt interest held by a recognised jobber;
  7. (g) an exempt security interest;
  8. (h) an interest of the President of the Family Division of the High Court subsisting by virtue of section 9 of the Administration of Estates Act 1925;
  9. (i) an interest of the Accountant General of the Supreme Court in shares held by him;
  10. (j) any such interests, or interests of such class, as may be prescribed for the purposes of this paragraph by regulations made by the Secretary of State by statutory instrument.

(2) A person shall not by virtue of section (Interests to be notified) (4)(b) of this Act be taken to be interested in any shares by reason only that he has been appointed a proxy to vote at a specified meeting of a company or of any class of its members and at any adjournment of that meeting or has been appointed by a corporation to act as its representative at any meeting of a company or of any class of its members.

(3) The conditions referred to in subsection (1)(e) above are, in relation to any settlement—

  1. (a) that it is irrevocable; and
  2. (b) that the settlor (within the meaning of section 444 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1970) has no interest in any income arising under, or property comprised in, the settlement.

(4) A person is a recognised jobber for the purposes of subsection (1)(f) above if he is a member of The Stock Exchange recognised by the Council of The Stock Exchange as carrying on the business of a jobber; and an interest of any such person in shares is an exempt interest for those purposes if—

  1. (a) he carries on that business in the United Kingdom; and
  2. (b) he holds the interest for the purposes of that business.

(5) An interest in shares is an exempt security interest for the purposes of subsection (1)(g) above if—

  1. (a) it is held by a person who is—
    1. (i) a recognised bank or licensed institution within the meaning of the Banking Act 1979 or an insurance company within the meaning of the Insurance Companies Act 1974 to which Part II of that Act applies; or
    2. (ii) a trustee savings bank (within the meaning of the Trustee Savings Banks Act 1976); or
    3. (iii) a member of The Stock Exchange carrying on business in the United Kingdom as a stock broker; and
  2. (b) it is held by way of security only for the purposes of a transaction entered into in the ordinary course of his business as such a person;
or if it is held by way of security only either by the Bank of England or by the Post Office for the purposes of a transaction entered into in the ordinary course of that part of the business of the Post Office which consists of the provision of banking services.

Lord Trefgarne

My Lords, I beg to move Amendment No. 125, which is consequential. I beg to move that this House doth agree with the Commons in their amendment.

Moved, That this House doth agree with the Commons in the said amendment.—(Lord Trefgarne.)

On Question, Motion agreed to.