Company Law Reform Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. A251: "Page 398, line 3, leave out paragraph (c)." The noble Baroness said: Amendment No. A251 deletes Clause 838(2)(c) on a probing basis. Chapter 5 of Part 33 deals with registered third country auditors, who are defined in Clause 838. That definition covers auditors from countries that are outside the European Community, but whose securities are traded on the UK market. We can see the public policy interest in ensuring that those auditors are subject to appropriate oversight arrangements. However, we find it difficult to understand why Clause 838(2)(c) allows the Secretary of State to exclude certain bodies or categories of body from this definition because, by definition, those bodies will not be covered by the provisions set out in Schedule 12. Will the Minister explain which bodies or categories of bodies are expected to be excluded under this power and will he also put on record what processes the Secretary of State will undertake to satisfy himself that any body or category of body is properly excluded from the ambit of Chapter 5? I beg to move.