Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies (Environmentally Sustainable Investment) Bill

Debate between Gareth Davies and Alex Cunningham

2nd reading & 2nd reading: House of Commons
Friday 11th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Gareth Davies]

I thank the hon. Lady for her intervention. She is right that Co-operatives UK is supportive of the Bill, its principles and its spirit, as am I, but it did say that it was “impractical and counterproductive” and that the detail needed to be filled in at a later stage. My point is that this is lacking in detail and is not clear.

I will give her an example. In proposed new section 27A(3) of the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014, the Bill states:

“A green share may be transferable but is not withdrawable”.

However, proposed new section 27B discusses the detail of withdrawing and redeeming shares. This is clearly contradictory. I suspect that the Bill should have said that the green shares are non-transferable but are withdrawable, which would have made it consistent with shares currently issued by other co-operatives and their members. My point is that the Bill we are debating today is just not clear enough and the detail is lacking, as I will mention in a moment.

[Alex Cunningham (Stockton North) (Lab)]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving way. Government Members have been very kind to my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff North (Anna McMorrin), saying how great her intentions are and coming up with some excellent ideas to improve her Bill, so why do they not take their good ideas into Committee, discuss them there and bring back a Bill that is fit for purpose?

[Gareth Davies]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. As I will go on to explain, I think the issues are deeper and more multivarious than I have sought to describe.

If the Bill raises questions, the substantive issues raise even more. I have five issues with the Bill. First, it does not allow co-operatives to issue shares to non-members unless they are a group. The distinction leaves co-operatives without the right tools to raise capital for non-green ends.