HL Deb 23 October 1985 vol 467 cc1218-20

146 Clause 52, page 37, line 21, after first 'as' insert 'liquidator or'.

147 Clause 53, page 38, line 33, at end insert— '(1 A) It shall be the duty of the liquidator of a company which is being wound up by the court in England and Wales, if he is not the official receiver—

  1. (a) to furnish the official receiver with such information;
  2. (b) to produce to the official receiver, and permit inspection by the official receiver of, such books, papers and other records; and
  3. (c) to give the official receiver such other assistance,
as the official receiver may reasonably require for the purposes of carrying out his functions in relation to the winding up.'.

Lord Lucas of Chilworth

My Lords, I beg to move Amendments Nos. 146 and 147. In speaking to these two amendments I should like also to speak to Amendments Nos. 154, 160, 164, 197,201,206. 207, 209, 278, 289, 291 to 293, 295, 296, 306, 310 to 314, 347 to 353, 444, 464, 483, 522, 545 and 554.

154 Clause 58, page 42, line 20, leave out 'court' and insert 'Secretary of State'.

160 Clause 63, page 46, line 11, after'56(4)(a)'insert 'or 57(1)'

164 Clause 64, page 47, line 27, leave out from 'resigned' to end of line 28 and insert ', such time as may be prescribed;'.

197 Clause 70, page 54, line 1, leave out from 'resigned' to end of line 3 and insert ', such time as may be prescribed.

201 Clause 74, page 56, line 27, leave out subsections (4) and (5).

206 Clause 81, page 62, line 11, leave out 'of the persons mentioned in subsection (2) below' and insert 'person

207 Page 62, line 18, leave out subsection (2).

209 Clause 82, page 63, line 32, leave out 'goes into liquidation in England and Wales' and insert 'is being wound up by the court—

  1. (a) as if the persons referred to in subsection (2) above included any person who has acted as liquidator, administrator or administrative receiver of the company; and
  2. (b) where the court is in England and Wales.'.

278 Clause 115, page 94, line 37, at end insert— '(4A) Where an interim receiver has been appointed under this section the debtor shall give the interim receiver such inventory of his property and such other information, and shall attend on the interim receiver at such times, as the interim receiver may for the purpose of carrying out his functions under this section reasonably require.'.

289 Clause 127, page 102, line 20, after 'or' insert ', otherwise than under section 126(4) above,'.

291 Clause 128, page 103, line 32, leave out from 'resigned' to end of line 33 and insert ', such time as may be prescribed;'.

292 Clause 129, page 104, line 19, leave out ' 130(3)' and insert '142(8)'.

293 Clause 130, page 105,line 10,leaveoutsubsections(2) and (3).

295 Clause 131, page 106, line 3, leave out 'court' and insert 'Secretary of State'.

296 Clause 134, page 107, line 24, at end insert— '(2A) It shall be the duty of the trustee, if he is not the official receiver—

  1. (a) to furnish the official receiver with such information;
  2. (b) to produce to the official receiver, and permit inspection by the official receiver of. such books, papers and other records; and
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  3. (c) to give the official receiver such other assistance, as the official receiver may reasonably require for the purpose of enabling him to carry out his functions in relation to the bankruptcy.'.

306 Clause 142, page 113, line 41, after 'and' insert ', in respect of the bankrupt's estate, on'.

310 Page 114, line 8, at end insert 'and, subject to the preceding provisions of this Part, the trustee shall summon such a meeting if he is requested to do so by a creditor of the bankrupt and the request is made with the concurrence of not less than one-tenth, in value, of the bankrupt's creditors (including the creditor making the request)'.

311 Clause 143, page 114, line 21, leave out from 'which' to 'is' in line 22.

312 Page 114, line 28, after 'bankrupt', insert 'and his estate'.

313 Page 114, line 35, at end insert— '(3A) A notice of disclaimer shall not be given under this section in respect of any property that has been claimed for the bankrupt's estate under section 136 or 137 above except with the leave of the courts.'.

314 Page 114, line 36, leave out subsections (4) and (5).

347 Clause 174, page 141, line 5, after 'is' insert ', or any books, papers or records relating to the bankrupt's estate or affairs which are,'.

348 Page 141, line 6, at end insert 'who is required to deliver the property, books, papers or records to the official receiver or trustee'.

349 Page 141, line 9, after 'estate' insert' or any books, papers or records relating to the bankrupt's estate or affairs'.

350 Page 141, line 10, leave out 'any such property' and insert 'anything that may be seized under the warrant'.

351 Page 141, line 11, leave out 'any such property' and insert 'anything that may be so seized'.

352 Page 141, line 14, after 'is' insert 'or any books, papers or records relating to the bankrupt's estate or affairs are'.

353 Page 141, line 17, after 'property' insert 'books, papers or records'.

444 Schedule 4, page 175, line 10, after '50' insert '53(1A)'.

464 Schedule 5, page 179, line 13, leave out paragraph 25.

483 Schedule 6, page 182, line 43, at end insert 'and, in the case of any requirement imposed under section 134(2A) of this Act, provision conferring power on the court to make orders for the purpose of securing compliance with that requirement'.

522 Schedule 7, page 195, line 9, at end insert— '(1A) In section 55(5) (creditors' meetings etc. in winding up of company with long term business), for the words "subsections (1) to (3) of section 540" there shall be substituted the words "subsection (3) of section 540".'.

545 Schedule 9, page 203, line 2, column 3, leave out from '540,' to end of line 4, and insert 'subsections (1) and (2)'.

554 Page 204, line 37, column 3, after 'sections' insert '55(5),'.

This group of amendments relates to liquidators and trustees and their powers, duties and responsibilities. As your Lordships will know, in the Bill we have sought to provide insolvency practitioners with greater powers to assist them in carrying out their duties, together with further protection for creditors regarding their ability to require meetings and obtain information on the administration of the estate.

These amendments, some of which are merely re-enactments of existing legislation, provide additional powers for liquidators and trustees to facilitate their administration of insolvent estates together with further responsibilities imposed on them with regard to their duties and also the provision of information to creditors and the official receiver.

If any of your Lordships would like me to give a detailed explanation of any one of the particular amendments that I have enumerated, of course I shall be glad to do so. Meanwhile, I beg to move.

Moved, That this House do agree with the Commons in their Amendments Nos. 146 and 147.—(Lord Lucas of Chilworth).

On Question, Motion agreed to.