Company Law Reform Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 440:"Page 292, line 4, leave out ““(excluding”” and insert ““(including””" The noble Lord said: My Lords, I shall speak also to Amendments Nos. 441 and 442. Amendment No. 440 is designed to address a problem raised in Grand Committee by the noble Lord, Lord Hodgson, on behalf of the Law Society. References in the clause to a company’s shares currently exclude any shares held as Treasury shares. The effect is to prevent companies being able to discover who had an interest in any of the past three years in those of their shares which they now hold as Treasury shares. The amendment would remove that unnecessary exemption of treasury shares from Clause 595. Amendments Nos. 441 and 442 address further points raised by the noble Lord, Lord Hodgson. He tabled an amendment in Grand Committee which sought to clarify the time limit in respect of the requirements of Clause 605(3). Amendments Nos. 441 and 442 achieve that clarification by moving the time limit to subsection (2), so that it applies to the basic entry of information on the register of interests disclosed, which must now be made within three days of receipt. Before we leave Part 21, I take this opportunity to advise noble Lords that we undertake to table at Third Reading further amendments to Clauses 859 to 861, which currently appear in Part 33 and which implement the transparency directive in UK law. I am happy to expand on that if noble Lords press me, but I take this opportunity to put them on notice. In the meantime, I beg to move. On Question, amendment agreed to. Clause 605 [Register of interests disclosed]: