Legislative Reform (Insolvency) (Advertising Requirements) Order 2009

My Lords, when I first looked at this comparatively modest and small document I was filled with that dread that usually comes across you when you think "It can’t be this straightforward, can it?" The Commons debates on the subject were prolonged and about procedural purposes, and I concluded that procedure was much more important than the Motion itself. The debate we had earlier about piracy and modern media suggests that the necessary duty to advertise an insolvency in two local papers may belong to another era. Advertising in other areas could be the way forward. However, as the noble Lord, Lord De Mauley, has suggested, it really does seem to be a small part of a package. It would be interesting to know the timetable that the Minister envisages, and whether there are any other issues. What would be the duty to advertise and to take reasonable steps? Do the Government have any idea what that really means? How far are we going to go? What is envisaged beyond this? Just to reassure people—if you are ordering something online, are you going to be advertising online? The answer might come out. At the moment it could be read as simply taking away one thing that may not have hit many other people and giving a possible excuse for doing absolutely nothing.