§ Mr. Hawkinsasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his policy, from the point of view of the control of credit, towards any scheme by building societies to give loans to elderly people on the security of their homes for their life time with the interest rolled-up.
§ Mr. Bruce-GardyneIf building societies have specific proposals we would be quite prepared to consider them.
§ Mr. Squireasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total number of building society directors as at 1 January 1982; how many of these were originally co-opted by the boards of directors concerned; and how many were nominated by the membership at large.
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§ Mr. Bruce-GardyneThere are probably between 1,500 and 2,000 building society directors. The exact number and the answers to the second and third parts of the question are not readily available.
§ Mr. Squireasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to require the Chief Registrar of Friendly Societies to monitor the conduct of elections in building societies.
§ Mr. Bruce-GardyneThe Chief Registrar has a statutory function in respect of the election of directors to a building society if, and only if, a dispute arises which is referred to him for arbitration. He has neither the locus nor the staff to monitor elections more generally.
The responsibility for conduct of elections rests with the directors of societies. As my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer said in his speech on 18 May to the Building Societies Association, it should make arrangements to ensure that the conduct of the election is not only fair but is manifestly seen to be fair.
§ Mr. Squireasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will take steps to investigate the use of proxy forms in building society elections.
§ Mr. Bruce-GardyneThe present use of proxy forms in elections is a matter for the rules of the society. As my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer said in his speech to the Building Societies Association on 18 May, it is important that the boards of societies should make arrangements to ensure that the conduct of elections is not only fair but is manifestly seen to be fair.
I hope that societies will heed this advice. If, when the time next comes for building society legislation, the way in which proxy forms are used is still a cause for concern, it would be for consideration whether to include provisions regulating the use of proxies.