§ Mr. Weetchasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will introduce closer regulation of the use by building societies of printed and pre-paid proxy forms in order to prevent any abuse.
§ Mr. Bruce-GardyneUnder present legislation, this is primarily a matter for each society's rules, not for regulation. An abuse of any rules on this could be a matter to be dealt with under the disputes procedure set out in the society's rules and in the Building Societies Act 1962.
§ Mr. Squireasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the statutory provisions or regulations relating to the making available of building society annual returns before the date of the annual general meetings.
§ Mr. Bruce-GardyneI refer my hon. Friend to my answer on 4 March to his previous question on this point.—[Vol. 19, c.216.]
§ Mr. Squireasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the provisions in statute or regulation which 223W seek to prevent building societies circulating misleading statements to their members in annual reports or in other circulars.
§ Mr. Bruce-GardyneThere are no provisions in statute or regulations which refer specifically to statements by a building society which give a misleading impression, and this matter is governed by the general law.
A seriously misleadng statement by a society about its financial position might be a reason for the Chief Registrar to impose an order or direction on the society under his powers in the Building Societies Act 1962 to act in the interests of investors and depositors.