Kevin Hollinrake
MP for Thirsk and Malton · Conservative · United Kingdom
“That issue is one of the many things that the people who signed the petition are concerned about, Dr Huq. One of the big things that the Government promised, which I agree with them about, is the need to encourage faster growth in our economy. Of course that is right, but look at where that growth is.”
“The UK economy went through many challenges, of course, some of them caused by Brexit; the reality is that a change like that was bound to have a short-term effect—but only a short-term effect. The country grew faster than Germany and France during that period of time.”
“As I said before, governing is not easy; we had many challenges ourselves, and we did not get everything right, but what we did during that difficult period of time—those 14 years—was get 1.2 million more people employed in our economy. Unemployment was halved during our time in office.”
“Of course, many Government Members supported his leadership challenge. We are here now, looking forward to a general election coming down the track. We are ready for a general election when the Government are, because, unlike them, we have a strong leader—against their weak leader.”
“I was, absolutely. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (John Lamont) for his excellent opening speech. He made so many good points, not least about the level of support for this petition.”
“Members on the Government side of the House also feel betrayed and angry with their own leadership, for marching them up to the top of the hill and marching them back down again on many of these issues, but they do not feel as betrayed as the businesspeople in this country in particular.”
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“New Clause 20 Administrative removal of material from register “(1) In the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022— (a) for section 28 substitute— ‘28 Administrative removal of material from the register (1) The registrar may remove from the register anything that appears to the registrar to be— (a) a document, or material derived from a document, accepted under section 1073 of the Companies Act 2006 (power to accept documents not meeting requirements for proper delivery), or (b) unnecessary material as defined by section 1074 of the Companies Act 2006. (2) The power to remove material from the register under this section may be exercised— (a) on the registrar’s own motion, or (b) on an application made in accordance with regulations under section 28A(2).”
“(2) The notice must state the date on which it is issued.’ (3) In the heading, omit ‘in the register’.”— (Kevin Hollinrake.) This new clause makes changes for the purpose of resolving inconsistencies in information relating to overseas entities that corresponds to the changes made by clause 81 of the Bill in relation to companies. Brought up, read the First and Second time, and added to the Bill.”
“New Clause 19 Resolving inconsistencies in the register “(1) Section 27 of the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 (resolving inconsistencies in the register) is amended as follows. (2) For subsections (1) and (2) substitute— ‘(1) Where it appears to the registrar that the information contained in a document delivered to the registrar by an overseas entity in connection with the register is inconsistent with other information contained in records kept by the registrar under section 1080 of the Companies Act 2006, the registrar may give notice to the overseas entity to which the document relates— (a) stating in what respects the information contained in it appears to be inconsistent with other information in records kept by the registrar under section 1080 of the Companies Act 2006, and (b) requiring the overseas entity, within the period of 14 days beginning with the date on which the notice is issued, to take all such steps as are reasonably open to it to resolve the inconsistency by delivering replacement or additional documents or in any other way.”
“(7) Regulations under this section may impose a duty on the registrar to publish, in relation to such periods as may be specified— (a) details of how many applications have been made under the regulations and how many of them have been allowed, and (b) such other details in connection with applications under the regulations as may be specified in the regulations. (8) Regulations under this section are subject to affirmative resolution procedure.’”— (Kevin Hollinrake.) This new clause replicates for the register of overseas entities the provision made by clause 87 of the Bill in relation to companies. Brought up, read the First and Second time, and added to the Bill.”
“(4) Regulations under subsection (1)(a) or (1)(c) may provide that information is not to be made unavailable for public inspection unless the person to whom it relates provides such alternative information as may be specified. (5) The circumstances that may be specified under subsection (1)(b) or (d) by way of an exception to a restriction on disclosure include circumstances where the court has made an order, in accordance with the regulations, authorising disclosure. (6) Regulations under subsection (1)(b) or (d) may not require the registrar to refrain from disclosing information under section 1110F of the Companies Act 2006 (general powers of disclosure by the registrar).”
“(2) The regulations may make provision as to— (a) who may make an application; (b) the grounds on which an application may be made; (c) the information to be included in and documents to accompany an application; (d) the notice to be given of an application and of its outcome; (e) how an application is to be determined; (f) the duration of, and procedures for revoking, any restrictions on the making of information available for public inspection or its disclosure. (3) Provision under subsection (2)(e) or (2)(f) may in particular— (a) confer a discretion on the registrar; (b) provide for a question to be referred to a person other than the registrar for the purposes of determining the application or revoking the restrictions.”
“New Clause 18 Protection of information “For section 25 of the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 substitute— ‘25 Power to make regulations protecting material (1) The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision requiring the registrar, on application— (a) not to make available for public inspection any information on the register relating to an individual; (b) to refrain from disclosing information on the register relating to an individual except in specified circumstances; (c) not to make available for public inspection any address on the register that is not information to which paragraph (a) applies; (d) to refrain from disclosing any such address except in specified circumstances.”
“(2) In this section the following have the meaning given by section 22(2)— “protected date of birth information”; “protected residential address information”; “protected trusts information”.’”— (Kevin Hollinrake.) This new clause replicates for the register of overseas entities a number of changes made by the Bill in relation to companies. It also extends the list of information unavailable for public inspection. Brought up, read the First and Second time, and added to the Bill.”
“23 Disclosure of protected information (1) The registrar must not disclose protected date of birth information, protected residential address information or protected trusts information unless— (a) the disclosure is permitted by section 1110F of the Companies Act 2006 (general powers of disclosure by the registrar), or (b) the information is required to be made available for public inspection (as a result of being contained in a document, part of a document, or record to which section 22(1) does not apply).”
“(4) Where subsection (1), or a provision referred to in subsection (1), imposes a restriction by reference to material deriving from a particular description of document (or part of a document), that does not affect the availability for public inspection of the same information contained in material derived from another description of document (or part of a document) in relation to which no such restriction applies. (5) The registrar need not retain material to which subsection (1) applies for longer than appears to the registrar reasonably necessary for the purposes for which the material was delivered to the registrar.”
“(2) In this section— “protected date of birth information” means information as to the day of the month (but not the month or year) on which an individual who is a registrable beneficial owner or managing officer of an overseas entity was born; “protected residential address information” means information as to the usual residential address of an individual who is a registrable beneficial owner or managing officer of an overseas entity; “protected trusts information” means the required information about a trust (see sections 4(3), 7(3) and (4) and 9(3) and (4). (3) Information about a registrable beneficial owner or managing officer does not cease to be protected date of birth information or protected residential address information when they cease to be a registrable beneficial owner or managing officer.”
“New Clause 17 Material unavailable for public inspection “For sections 22 to 24 of the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 substitute— ‘ 22 Material unavailable for inspection (1) The following material must not, so far as it forms part of the register, be made available by the registrar for public inspection— (a) so much of any application or other document delivered to the registrar under section 4, 7 or 9 as is required to contain— (i) protected date of birth information; (ii) protected residential address information; (iii) protected trusts information; (iv) the name or contact details of an individual provided for the purposes of section 4(1)(d), 7(1)(e) or 9(1)(f) or paragraph 6(1)(g) or 7(1)(g) of Schedule 1; (v) an overseas entity’s email address (see paragraph 2(1)(e) of Schedule 1); (vi) any title numbers or folio numbers in respect of land (see paragraph 2(1)(h), (i) and (j) of Schedule 1); (b) any information that regulations under section 16 provide is not to be made available for public inspection; (c) the following— (i) any application or other document delivered to the registrar under regulations under section 25 (regulations protecting material), other than information provided by virtue of section 25(4); (ii) any information which regulations under section 25 require not to be made available for public inspection; (d) any application or other document delivered to the registrar under section 28 (administrative removal of material from the register); (e) any court order under section 30 (rectification of the register under court order) that the court has directed under section 31 is not to be made available for public inspection; (f) any statement delivered to the registrar by virtue of section 1067A(3) or (4) of the Companies Act 2006 (delivery of documents: identity verification requirements etc); (g) any statement made in accordance with regulations made by virtue of section 1082(2)(c) of the Companies Act 2006 (statement of unique identifier); (h) any document provided to the registrar under section 1092A of the Companies Act 2006 (power to require further information); (i) any email address, identification code or password deriving from a document delivered for the purpose of authorising or facilitating electronic filing procedures or providing information by telephone; (j) any record of the information contained in a document (or part of a document) mentioned in any of the previous paragraphs of this subsection; (k) any other material excluded from public inspection by or under any other enactment.”
“New Clause 16 Material unavailable for public inspection: verification information “In section 16 of the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 (verification of registrable beneficial owners and managing officers), in subsection (2), after paragraph (c) insert— ‘(d) requiring the registrar not to make available for public inspection certain information delivered to the registrar by virtue of the regulations.’”— (Kevin Hollinrake.) Section 16 of the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 confers power to make regulations about identity verification. This new clause allows the regulations to provide that information provided under the regulations is protected from public inspection. Brought up, read the First and Second time, and added to the Bill.”
“2022/870) (description of legal entity subject to its own disclosure requirements) is revoked.”— (Kevin Hollinrake.) This new clause expands the definition of “registrable beneficial owner” in Part 1 of the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 in relation to an entity one of whose beneficial owners is a trustee. There is also a power to further expand the definition. Brought up, read the First and Second time, and added to the Bill.”
“(5) Before paragraph 25 insert— ‘Expansion of meaning of “registrable beneficial owner” where trusts in view 24A (1) The Secretary of State may by regulations amend this Schedule so as to expand the description of persons who are registrable beneficial owners of an overseas entity in circumstances where the overseas entity is part of a chain of entities that includes a trustee. (2) For these purposes an overseas entity is part of a chain of entities that includes a trustee if there is a legal entity which is a beneficial owner of it by virtue of being a trustee. (3) Regulations under this paragraph are subject to the affirmative resolution procedure. Power to amend thresholds etc’. (6) Regulation 14 of the Register of Overseas Entities (Delivery, Protection and Trust Services) Regulations 2022 (S.I.”
“New Clause 15 Registrable beneficial owners: cases involving trusts “(1) Schedule 2 to the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 (registrable beneficial owners) is amended in accordance with subsections (2) to (5). (2) In paragraph 3 (legal entities), in paragraph (b), after ‘(see Part 3)’ insert ‘or is a beneficial owner of the overseas entity by virtue of being a trustee’. (3) In paragraph 8 (beneficial owners exempt from registration), after paragraph (b) insert— ‘(ba) the person is not a beneficial owner of the overseas entity by virtue of being a trustee,’. (4) For the heading of Part 6 substitute ‘Powers to amend this Schedule’.”
“(2) In paragraph 6(1), after paragraph (f) insert— ‘(g) if the officer is under the age of 16 years old, the name and contact details of an individual who is at least 16 years old and is willing to be contacted about the officer.’ (3) In paragraph 7(1), for paragraph (g) substitute— ‘(g) the name and contact details of an individual who is at least 16 years old and is willing to be contacted about the officer.’”— (Kevin Hollinrake.) This new clause means that, where an application for registration as an overseas entity is required to provide details of a managing officer, there will be a requirement to include the name of an individual who is at least 16 years old and is willing to be contacted about the officer (unless the officer is an individual of at least that age). Brought up, read the First and Second time, and added to the Bill.”
“(Scotland) Act 2012; (b) the reference to an entity’s being entered as proprietor in the proprietorship section of a title sheet is a reference to the name of the entity being so entered.’”— (Kevin Hollinrake.) This new clause requires an overseas entity, when applying for registration in the register of overseas entities or providing an update, to include the title number etc for relevant interests in land held by it. For entities already registered, it will operate when they next provide an update. Brought up, read the First and Second time, and added to the Bill. New Clause 14 Registration of information about managing officers: age limits “(1) Schedule 1 to the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 (applications: required information) is amended as follows.”
“(4) In sub-paragraph (1)(i)— “registered owner”, in relation to a qualifying estate, means the person registered in the register kept under the Land Registration Act (Northern Ireland) 1970 (c. 18 (N.I.)) as the owner of the estate; “qualifying estate” has the meaning given by paragraph 1 of Schedule 8A to the Land Registration Act (Northern Ireland) 1970. (5) In sub-paragraph (1)(j)— (a) “lease”, “plot of land” and “proprietor” have the meanings given by section 113(1) of the Land Registration etc.”
“New Clause 13 Registration of information about land “In Schedule 1 to the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 (required information), in paragraph 2— (a) in sub-paragraph (1), after paragraph (g) insert— ‘(h) if the entity is the registered proprietor of one or more qualifying estates in land in England and Wales, the title number of each of them; (b) if the entity is the registered owner of one or more qualifying estates in Northern Ireland, the folio number in respect of each of them; (c) if the entity is— (i) entered as proprietor in the proprietorship section of the title sheet for one or more plots of land that are registered in the Land Register of Scotland, or (ii) the tenant under one or more leases registered in the Land Register of Scotland, the title number of the title sheet, in respect of each of them, in which the entity’s interest is registered.’; (b) after sub-paragraph (2) insert— ‘(3) In sub-paragraph (1)(h)— “registered proprietor”, in relation to a qualifying estate, means the person entered as proprietor of the estate in the register of title kept by the Chief Land Registrar; “qualifying estate” has the meaning given by paragraph 1 of Schedule 4A to the Land Registration Act 2002.”
“Okay. That was a similar point to the one made by the right hon. Member for Barking. No, we do not feel that is right. We do not believe that trust information should be made publicly available, given that trusts are often used to protect vulnerable people. I reassure the hon. Lady that that information will be shareable with HMRC, law enforcement and other persons with functions of a public nature once the relevant regulations have been made. Question put and agreed to. New clause 12 accordingly read a Second time, and added to the Bill.”
“I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the (Energy Bill Relief Scheme Pass-through Requirement (Heat Suppliers) (England and Wales and Scotland) Regulations 2022 (SI, 2022, No. 1101).”
“The pass-through requirements allow cost savings to reach the people the Government intend to support, such as tenants and other individuals. Importantly, the regulations also provide routes for energy users to benefit from the discount they are entitled to in scenarios where intermediaries are not meeting their legal obligations. I commend the regulations to the House.”
“If heat network customers do not receive the pass-through or information from their heat supplier, they will be able to raise a complaint with the energy ombudsman. We have published guidance on the pass-through regulations to help those affected understand how to comply with these regulations. This Government guidance includes advice for landlords on how to meet their pass-through obligations. There are also template letters for tenants, should they wish to raise concerns with their landlords about their energy bills. Another SI will be laid later this month to correct some mistakes in the original heat supplier regulations. In conclusion, these regulations protect those most exposed to high energy costs.”
“For example, if a landlord charges their tenant an all-inclusive rent, incorporating a fixed charge for energy use, heating or hot water, they must pass on the discount in a just and reasonable way. If the intermediary does not pass on the benefit, the end users can pursue recovery of the benefit as a debt through civil proceedings. Should a court rule in the end user’s favour, they will be entitled to the payment plus interest. The interest is set at 2% above the Bank of England’s base rate. This will begin to accrue from 60 days after the intermediary first receives the relevant scheme benefits. The enforcement approach is the same across the schemes, with a slight nuance for heat networks under the EBRS.”
“Taken together, the regulations apply to all three energy schemes, the EPG, the EBSS and the EBRS, including customers who are part of heat networks. Turning to how the pass-through amount should be calculated, intermediaries can adjust the amount they pass on based on charges to end users. They must demonstrate to end users that that amount is just and reasonable. Intermediaries can take into account the extent to which they have increased their charges to end users as a result of the energy crisis. If they have shielded their end users from the impact of increased energy prices, it may be just and reasonable for them to retain some or all of the scheme benefit.”
“As such, an intermediary is any individual or organisation that is party to an electricity or gas contract and receives energy price support in relation to that contract, or receives a pass-through of reductions attributable to that energy price support. The intermediary must pass on the costs of energy supplied and any reductions attributable to the energy price support to an end user—for example, landlords or property managers of a residential building. The various regulations also cover intermediaries supplying a product or service where, contractually, a component of the price relates directly to the use of energy for the supply of heating or hot water—for example, park home managers, heat networks and electric vehicle charging operators.”
“That support will protect homes and non-domestic customers across the UK against inflated energy prices so that families and consumers will be supported in their cost of living this winter. The various regulations have been created under the Energy Prices Act 2022, which gained Royal Assent on 25 October 2022. They are essential secondary legislation to implement the energy schemes. The pass-through regulations ensure that the Government’s energy support reaches families and consumers. Rather than expecting intermediaries to act of their own accord, we are requiring that they must pass on the financial benefit to the end users. The requirements take into account the diverse range of contracting structures relating to the supply, resale, provision and charging of energy.”
“It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mrs Murray. The regulations in the first three of the five statutory instruments we are discussing were laid before the House on 31 October, and the remaining two measures on 4 November. Last Monday, my colleague the Minister for Industry and Investment Security, my hon. Friend the Member for Wealden (Ms Ghani), set out the details of the Government’s energy support schemes: the energy price guarantee or EPG, the energy bill relief scheme or EBRS, and the energy bills support scheme or EBSS. In Committee today, I will explain the pass-through requirements in respect of the schemes. The Government have responded rapidly to the unprecedented rise in energy prices by introducing emergency legislation on energy support.”
“But at the moment that has not happened, so we have to make these measures subject to the courts. That is the only available method.”
“We have engaged extensively with consumer groups, representative organisations, Citizens Advice, local authorities, food bank operators, faith groups and some of the operators behind the park home associations to try to ensure that people are aware of the requirements on them to pass on the support provided. Heat networks are a separate cohort and an exception in this whole discussion because they are already covered by the energy ombudsman; it is therefore easy to make them accountable to the energy ombudsman. Landlords do not have that kind of relationship with the energy ombudsman, or with any ombudsman. The Government have put forward a consultation and they intend to ask all landlords to be members of a redress scheme. I would have welcomed that move because it would have made the scheme far easier to implement.”
“I gently challenge the shadow Minister on the point about park home residents, or people from a different cohort, not having got a penny yet. That should not be the case. Most landlords and park home site operators are decent people who will be doing the right thing and trying to help their residents through a very difficult time. This instrument just legalises and formalises the process. Often in this place we try to legislate to ensure that everyone is responsible for doing the right thing. The shadow Minister asked about vulnerable customers, as did some other Members—not least my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for North East Hertfordshire.”
“I thank right hon. and hon. Members from across the House for their comments. I will address the points made by the shadow Minister first. He is right to point out some of the deficiencies in the scheme, in that there is great diversity in the number and type of intermediaries. Ideally, we would have liked one ombudsman that covered every sector; instead, we have park home site owners, landlords, electric-vehicle-charger operators and heat-network operators all having different ombudsmen, or sometimes an absence of any ombudsman. That is the challenge behind the measures we are putting in place. The other challenge is having to design a scheme of such complexity at pace, with a diversity of suppliers and intermediaries.”
“If someone has done the right thing and reduced their energy use, they should see the full benefit of that, both in terms of the reduction— the energy they have not used—and the cost covered by the various schemes that apply. On the point about “as soon as reasonably practicable”, I would expect the courts to take a dim view of somebody who had pocketed the money for 60 days and let the interest pile up.”
“Friend the Member for North West Hampshire made some very good points about care homes, and how their residents will benefit from the scheme. If service charges include energy provision, it would be just and reasonable to pass on the benefits of the EPG or EBRS to those residents. Although we do not want to see residents having to take landlords or the people who provide their accommodation to the courts, I think the courts would take a very dim view if the support had not been passed on to those residents. My right hon. Friend the Member for North West Hampshire made another good point. What about if someone had been parsimonious and reduced their energy use? Would they still see the benefit? The Government support, as he knows, is provided on a per kilowatt-hour basis, so we would expect support to be passed over on that basis.”
“I share the hon. Member’s concerns, but I can only reiterate that the energy ombudsman does not cover landlords. Landlords are not regulated by the energy ombudsman, so there is no recourse to the energy ombudsman. There has to be a relationship between the two. As I have said, moves are afoot to deal with the issue, but if the Opposition have ideas on how we do this more effectively they should write to us, and we can write back to them to say why not. The shadow Minister asked for sanctions for people who do not comply, but we do not see any way to impose sanctions without regulations having been in place before the scheme was brought to bear. For all those reasons, I think it is not possible to do what he wishes, but as I say, if he has some ideas on how we might, he should write to us. My right hon.”
“My right hon. Friend raises a good point. The difficulty is the different ways energy can be levied to a resident. The landlord might already have passed on the benefit to that individual. They might have already said, “I am not going to put your rent up, because I see a Government scheme coming down the line that means I can shield you from the costs of energy.” At that point in time, it is not easy to determine whether a tenant has or has not already had the benefit from the scheme. It can be expected that people will get the absolute benefit of the schemes, but how the landlord chooses to pass it on is complicated. It is not possible to have a one-size-fits-all solution.”
“My right hon. Friend makes the exact point. It may not just be the fact that the rent now charged reflects the increased cost of energy and the Government subsidy. It may also reflect that rents have changed in the area. They may have gone up or down. All these things are subject to market forces. The only way we can practicably deal with this is to require landlords, park home owners, or people who look after care homes to be just and reasonable in passing on the support to the individuals concerned.”
“That is why we are working with organisations such as Step Up, Citizens Advice, charitable groups and food banks to make sure those people are sufficiently supported and that benefit is passed on to individual residents.”
“My hon. Friend raises an interesting additional complexity, which I am not sure is dealt with in the regulations. However, again, there will still be a requirement for the administrator to pass on the benefit in that circumstance, I guess. That might be something I can discuss with officials and write to my hon. Friend about, if he is sufficiently concerned. My right hon. and learned Friend the Member for North East Hertfordshire made a point about engagement with landlords. As I have said, we have done that, and we are certainly very concerned about the passing-through in all these schemes, particularly to the vulnerable.”
“—(Kevin Hollinrake.) ENERGY BILL RELIEF SCHEME PASS-THROUGH REQUIREMENT (HEAT SUPPLIERS) (NORTHERN IRELAND) REGULATIONS 2022 Resolved, That the Committee has considered the Energy Bill Relief Scheme Pass-through Requirement (Heat Suppliers) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2022 (SI, 2022, No. 1124). —(Kevin Hollinrake.) ENERGY BILL RELIEF SCHEME AND ENERGY PRICE GUARANTEE PASS-THROUGH REQUIREMENT AND MISCELLANEOUS AMENDMENTS REGULATIONS 2022 Resolved, That the Committee has considered the Energy Bill Relief Scheme and Energy Price Guarantee Pass-through Requirement and Miscellaneous Amendments Regulations 2022 (SI, 2022, No, 1125).— (Kevin Hollinrake.)”
“ENERGY BILLS SUPPORT SCHEME AND ENERGY PRICE GUARANTEE PASS-THROUGH REQUIREMENT (ENGLAND AND WALES AND SCOTLAND) REGULATIONS 2022 Resolved, That the Committee has considered the Energy Bills Support Scheme and Energy Price Guarantee Pass-through Requirement (England and Wales and Scotland) Regulations 2022 (SI, 2022, No. 1102). —(Kevin Hollinrake.) ENERGY BILL RELIEF SCHEME PASS-THROUGH REQUIREMENT (ENGLAND AND WALES AND SCOTLAND) REGULATIONS 2022 Resolved, That the Committee has considered the Energy Bill Relief Scheme Pass-through Requirement (England and Wales and Scotland) Regulations 2022 (SI, 2022, No. 1103).”
“The pass-through requirements allow cost savings to reach the people that the Government intend to support, such as tenants and other individuals. Importantly, the regulations also provide routes for end users to benefit from the discount they are entitled to in scenarios where intermediaries are not meeting their legal obligations. I commend the regulations to the Committee. Question put and agreed to. Resolved, That the Committee has considered the Energy Bill Relief Scheme Pass-through Requirement (Heat Suppliers) (England and Wales and Scotland) Regulations 2022 (SI, 2022, No. 1101).”
“The hon. Gentleman makes a very fair point. We will always keep this matter under review, and there are many different ways he can choose of holding the Government’s feet to the fire for doing that through their Departments. There are many different mechanisms for that, which I do not need to outline to him. However, I can absolutely make a commitment to the hon. Gentleman that myself and my colleagues in the Department will make sure that these measures are effective and do what we want them to do. Of course, we always have the opportunity to refine our approach through legislation if we do not feel it is working as it should. In conclusion, the regulations protect those who are most exposed to high energy costs.”
“I beg to move amendment 95, in clause 119, page 105, leave out lines 8 and 9 and insert— “‘(2B) A limited partnership is dissolved if— (a) it ceases to have any general partners, (b) it ceases to have any limited partners, or (c) each general partner is either insolvent or disqualified under the directors disqualification legislation (see section 8J(3)), irrespective of whether they became insolvent or disqualified before or after this subsection comes into force.’;” This amendment would mean that limited partnerships dissolve if all of the general partners are either insolvent or disqualified, rather than only dissolving if they are all insolvent. Together with amendment 96 it would mean that limited partnerships would not dissolve if all of the limited partners are insolvent.”
“They provide that a limited partnership shall not be dissolved by the bankruptcy of a partner, and remove the current provision in the Limited Partnerships Act 1907 relating to the winding up of limited partnerships. Turning to clause 120, the Partnership Act 1890 provides that a court may dissolve a partnership when a partner is found to be suffering from “lunacy or unsound mind”. Clause 120 updates that provision with references to modern definitions of “mental disorder”. The clause also modernises the Limited Partnership Act 1907 by removing reference to the “lunacy” of a limited partner as being grounds for the dissolution of the partnership.”
“Government new clause 32 allows the Secretary of State or any other person with sufficient interest to apply to the court for orders in relation to the winding up of a limited partnership. The court may make such orders if it appears to the court that a dissolved limited partnership has not been wound up properly or at all. That will ensure that dissolved limited partnerships are properly wound up in a timely manner. The clause amends and clarifies the existing law around the winding up of limited partnerships. The changes work together with the amendments in this group to make the register more transparent. Specifically, the remaining changes in the clause, which we have not yet debated, concern the application of the actions of limited partners.”
“Government new clause 31 concerns winding up limited partnerships in the public interest. This new clause will allow the Secretary of State—in effect, the Insolvency Service—to petition the court to wind up any limited partnership in the United Kingdom, whether solvent or insolvent, and for the court to order the winding up of a limited partnership if it considers it just and equitable to do so. The Secretary of State will be able to receive information from bodies across Government, such as a law enforcement agencies or investigatory bodies, or indeed the registrar under her new information-sharing power. That will help the Secretary of State decide whether to petition the court.”
“If there are no general partners, the limited partners are obliged to take all reasonable steps to ensure that the firm is wound up. The effect of new clause 30 is that when a limited partnership dissolves and has at least one general partner, they must notify the registrar of the dissolution. When there are no longer any general partners at the time of dissolution, the limited partners will be required to notify the registrar. Amendment 97 removes subsection (3) from the clause as the penalty for failing to notify the registrar of dissolution is covered by new clause 30. The rationale for the provisions is that the registrar needs to be informed of a limited partnership’s dissolution so that she can reflect that in the index of limited partnerships’ names which she maintains.”
“It is a pleasure to speak with you in the Chair, Ms Elliott. This group of amendments and new clauses make provision about the circumstances in which limited partner ships dissolve, prescribe the winding-up responsibilities of the partners, and establish powers of the court to wind up limited partnerships. The lead amendment provides that a limited partnership is dissolved: if it ceases to have any general partners; if it ceases to have any limited partners; or where all general partners are either insolvent or disqualified under the directors disqualification legislation. Government new clause 30 and amendments 96 and 97 concern the duty to notify the registrar of dissolution. Amendment 96 provides for who winds up a dissolved limited partnership. If there are general partners at the time it dissolves, the responsibility falls to them.”