Companies: Executive Remuneration

Lord Forsyth of Drumlean Excerpts

Wednesday 13th June 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord De Mauley]

My Lords, I am not sure what binding votes on an optional basis might mean, but that is not what is proposed.

[Lord Forsyth of Drumlean]

My Lords, is not one of the difficulties with the Government’s proposals that the people who act for the shareholders are the fund managers and the institutions—as the noble Lord, Lord Myners, is well aware—who are themselves paid huge sums of money, which, unlike with directors of public companies, are not disclosed?

[Lord De Mauley]

Presumably unless they are quoted, my Lords. Institutional shareholders are showing a great deal more interest in taking action on this than they have previously, and we have every hope that they will take advantage of the tools that we propose to give them.