Draft Takeovers (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Adam Afriyie
Main Page: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)Department Debates - View all Adam Afriyie's debates with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Draft Takeovers (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019
Adam Afriyie Excerpts(5 years, 4 months ago)
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Adam Afriyie (Windsor) (Con)
I do not intend to detain the Committee for long. I welcome the statutory instrument, and commend the Government and the Minister for presenting it very well. It is one of the instruments that is beginning to deal with a no-deal scenario, as well as a deal-based scenario. Although many of us wish the Prime Minister well in negotiating the withdrawal agreement and subsequent free trade agreement, it would be the responsibility of any Government to prepare for the eventuality of no deal. The statutory instrument performs both functions, ensuring that our company takeover regime works in both scenarios.
I have a couple of questions. One is that there is a possibility—and I hope it does not arise because of the Brexit vote—that we may remain in the European Union. Would this statutory instrument then need to be reversed if that were the situation? The second question is slightly more technical, and I do not want to push the Minister too hard on this. I am interested in companies with dual listings, both in the EEA or the European Union and in the UK. How does this statutory instrument deal with that situation? I appreciate that she may need some inspiration to answer that question.
The explanatory memorandum says that the regulations transpose the 2004 directive, through the 2006 Act, into our legislation. However, it also says that these regulations will
“fix deficiencies in the Act arising from EU exit and thus preserve, so far as possible, the current takeover regime.”
I was wondering why it says “so far as possible”. Is it because, despite the great drafting of this statutory instrument, there may well be areas that are not fully covered and that may need to be addressed again in future?
Overall, I will be supporting this statutory instrument. It is absolutely vital that not only this one but probably another 20,000 more come through these Committees and that our job, as Members of Parliament, is very much enhanced when we leave the EU, because we will be doing what we were elected to do in the first place, which is effecting UK law.