Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick Excerpts

2nd reading & 2nd reading (Hansard) & 2nd reading (Hansard): House of Lords
Tuesday 9th June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Non-Afl) [V]]

My Lords, I welcome the opportunity to make a contribution to the Second Reading of this Bill. Like previous noble Lords who have spoken, I feel that the provisions in the Bill will undoubtedly protect companies in the execution of their corporate responsibilities during and post this pandemic.

Undoubtedly, the coronavirus pandemic, along with Brexit, has caused uncertainty for many companies. I will give examples from Northern Ireland. The aviation and aerospace industry has suffered a shock. There have been job losses in Thompson Aero Seating, which manufactures seats for aircraft, and in Bombardier, a multinational company, and those job losses have a direct impact on the aviation industry. Ulster Bank published its survey this week, as it has done on a monthly basis since August 2002, and the state of the local economy was the worst it had reported since then. There has been a slight increase in performance since April, but the report shows that the lockdown has caused many problems. So I hope that the Bill will provide the necessary resilience and strength to our businesses as they execute their corporate responsibilities.

Last week, the Northern Ireland Assembly gave legislative consent to the Bill. But it raised two issues—which I too will raise—on behalf of the Irish League of Credit Unions and Enterprise Northern Ireland. The noble Baroness, Lady Anelay, referred to charitable institutions. The Irish League of Credit Unions is a charitable institution, but it has some technical issues. Neither organisation was consulted prior to this, so what level of consultation took place preceding the accelerated passage of this legislation?

Schedule 14 to the Bill applies to meetings held between 26 March and 30 September 2020. The year end for credit union accounting purposes in Northern Ireland is 30 September. Under the standard rules for credit unions, organisations affiliated to the Irish League must hold their general meetings within four months of 30 September—that is, by the end of January 2021. Traditionally, most local credit union AGMs are held in November and December, so the Irish League of Credit Unions would very much like to have a resolution to this issue. Enterprise Northern Ireland has suggested that the period proposed in the Bill to present the presentation of winding-up petitions should be extended to cover cases where a statutory demand is served between 1 March and 31 October.

I would very much like the noble Lord to provide me with answers on those two issues. If he is not able to do so today, perhaps he would provide them to me in writing at a later stage. These issues go very much to the heart of the Bill. Although no company has any particular objection to fulfilling its corporate responsibilities, it wants to have the necessary resilience to execute business, to provide jobs and employment, and to provide the impetus that the local economy requires.