Companies: Online AGMs
Debate between Lord Sikka and Baroness Lloyd of Effra(6 days, 12 hours ago)
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Baroness Lloyd of Effra (Lab)
What we are doing through the consultation on modernising corporate reporting is delivering on our commitment to provide legal clarity on the grey area of whether companies can hold fully virtual AGMs. It would be up to shareholders and businesses to decide whether to take that forward. The proposals that we put forward will be accompanied by appropriate shareholder safeguards.
Lord Sikka (Lab)
My Lords, there is nothing in the Companies Act to say that shareholders own companies. They may have controlling rights, but that is not the same as ownership. Besides, shareholders may have short-term interests in companies; therefore, is it somewhat foolish to leave them with the control to direct companies. It is workers and customers who have lifelong interests in companies, and it is time that the Government empowered those stakeholders to promote growth and the welfare of our whole society.
Baroness Lloyd of Effra (Lab)
If my noble friend is referring to Section 172 of the Companies Act, which already requires directors to have regard in their decision-making to employee interests and
“the impact of the company’s operations on the community and the environment”,
that is a very important principle.
Mobile Phone and Broadband Prices
Debate between Lord Sikka and Baroness Lloyd of Effra(3 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Lord Sikka
To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure price increases by mobile phone and broadband companies are fair.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business and Trade and Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (Baroness Lloyd of Effra) (Lab)
It is important that customers feel empowered in engaging in the telecoms market, and confident that they are getting a fair deal. We support Ofcom in taking action to protect fairness and transparency, and welcome its recent steps to remind consumers of their rights. The Chancellor and Secretary of State have written to the CEO of Ofcom and the CEOs of major telecoms companies urging further, faster action to ensure that consumers are treated fairly.
Lord Sikka (Lab)
My Lords, I thank the Minister for her Answer. Phone and broadband companies such as O2 have violated Ofcom’s voluntary code and imposed unjustified mid-contract price hikes on customers. The old and vulnerable are hit hard, as they are less likely to shop around. Inflation and poverty are baked into the system. As reducing the cost of living is a government objective, will the Minister enact legislation to ban mid-contract price rises? Statutory rights are the only effective antidote to corporate abuse of power.
Baroness Lloyd of Effra (Lab)
My noble friend is right to highlight the importance of the ability to have the right contract and of giving consumers the information they need. We have no plans to ban in-contract price rises, but consumers have the right to leave, penalty-free, for 30 days from when unexpected price rises are announced by a provider. The Chancellor and Secretary of State asked Ofcom to review the suitability of the current 30-day notice period, to ensure that it can be enacted by consumers who experience unexpected and unannounced mid-contract price rises.