§ Sir David Priceasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the provisions of the Insolvency Bill in respect of the personal liability of directors will require any subsequent amendment to the Companies Acts.
§ Mr. FletcherIn formulating its proposals in the Insolvency Bill in relation to wrongful trading the Government considered that such proceedings should be available only to the liquidator and that therefore any imposition of personal liability on directors and others should benefit creditors as a whole. As a consequence, to maintain a consistent approach, Sec 630 of the consolidating Companies Act 1985 (which was previously Sec 332 of the Companies Act 1948) will be amended so that the civil remedy under the "fraudulent trading" clause will also be available only to a liquidator. Creditors will no longeŕbe able to institute proceedings for their own individual benefit.
I am not aware of any other contemplated or consequential amendments to the Companies Act 1985 in this respect although the Insolvency Bill proposals are of course still before this House for approval.