Company Law Reform Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. A226: "Page 373, line 21, leave out ““carrying”” and insert ““who has a place of business in the United Kingdom and who carries””" The noble Lord said: In moving this amendment, I shall speak also to Amendment No. A232. Part 32 deals with business names. The amendment is designed to limit the scope of Chapter 1 of Part 32, bringing it into line with the scope of the Business Names Act 1985 on place of business. Clause 789(1) provides that Chapter 1 of Part 32 applies to any person carrying on business in the United Kingdom. By contrast, the Business Names Act 1985 applies to any person who has a place of business in Great Britain, and who carries on business in Great Britain under a name. This means that, among other changes, the Bill removes the requirement for a person to have a place of business within the United Kingdom in order to be within the scope of the chapter. There is no mention of this change in the Explanatory Notes. We question whether this change is deliberate and/or warranted. I would be interested to hear the Minister’s explanation. Amendment No. A232 deals with the same issue in Clause 797(1), which has exactly the same definition conflicting with that in the Business Names Act 1985. I beg to move.