House of Commons Amendments

Session 2014 - 15
Internet Publications
Other Bills before Parliament

Notices of Amendments:
20

, continued

Matthew Hancock

Jo Swinson

Clause  148,  page  132,  line  40,  leave out sub-paragraph (iii)

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment removes the provision that would bring clause 30 into force two months after

Royal Assent. Instead, it will be brought into force by commencement regulations (so that it can

come into force at the same time as regulations made under amendments 22 and 23).

Matthew Hancock

Jo Swinson

Schedule  8,  page  214,  line  27,  leave out “11C” and insert “11E”

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment corrects a cross-reference to ensure that none of the provisions setting out the

new ground for disqualifying a person for instructing an unfit director will apply to industrial and

provident societies in Northern Ireland, to correspond with consequential amendments being

made to that effect in Great Britain.

Matthew Hancock

Jo Swinson

NC1

To move the following Clause—

“Small and medium sized businesses: information to finance platforms

(1)
Where—

(a)
a small or medium sized business has applied to a designated

bank for a loan or other credit facility, and

(b)
the application has been unsuccessful,


the Treasury may by regulations impose a duty on the bank to provide

specified information about the business to designated finance platforms.

(2)
The regulations—

(a)
must provide that the duty only applies where the business to

which the information relates agrees to its information being

provided to the designated finance platforms;

(b)
may require a bank—

(i)
to seek the agreement of a business for the purposes of

paragraph (a);

(ii)
to ask the business for any of the specified information

that the bank does not already have;

(iii)
to provide the information to the finance platforms

within a specified time period.

(3)
The regulations may make further provision about the duty in subsection

(1), which may in particular include provision about—

(a)
the types of loans and credit facilities that trigger the duty,

(b)
the circumstances in which an application is to be considered

unsuccessful, and

(c)
the finance platforms to which information must be provided.

(4)
Where a finance platform has received information by virtue of

subsection (1), the Treasury may by regulations—

Notices of Amendments:
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(a)
impose a duty on the finance platform to provide specified

information to all finance providers requesting access to the

information, and

(b)
impose a duty on the finance platform to provide specified

information about a particular business to a finance provider

where—

(i)
the finance provider has requested information about the

business, and

(ii)
the business has agreed to its information being provided

to the finance provider.

(5)
Information specified for the purposes of subsection (4)(a) must be in

such a form that no individual business, and no person associated with the

business, can be identified.

(6)
The regulations may provide that the duty in subsection (4)(a) or (b) does

not apply unless—

(a)
the finance provider or business agrees to the finance platform’s

terms and conditions;

(b)
the finance provider complies with specified requirements about

the use and disclosure of the information.

(7)
The regulations may make further provision about the duties in

subsection (4)(a) and (b), including in particular provision—

(a)
requiring the finance platform to provide the information within

a specified time period;

(b)
setting out how a request by a finance provider must be made to

a finance platform;

(c)
setting out how a business may indicate agreement for the

purposes of subsection (4)(b)(ii);

(d)
about the time period for which information must be kept by the

finance platform;

(e)
about the removal of information from the finance platform.

(8)
The regulations may make provision—

(a)
prohibiting finance platforms from charging fees to small and

medium sized businesses, or

(b)
permitting finance platforms to charge fees to small and medium

sized businesses.

(9)
The regulations must make provision for the designation of banks and

finance platforms by the Treasury, and the regulations may in particular

provide for—

(a)
conditions that must be met for a bank or finance platform to be

designated;

(b)
considerations that the Treasury may take into account before

deciding whether to designate a bank or finance platform;

(c)
the Treasury to consider the advice of another person before

making a designation;

(d)
the procedure for designating a bank or finance platform;

(e)
how the list of designated banks and finance platforms must be

published;

(f)
the revocation of a designation.

Notices of Amendments:
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(10)
In this section “specified” means specified or described in the

regulations.”

Member’s explanatory statement

This new clause enables the Treasury to make regulations requiring certain banks to pass

information about small and medium sized businesses which make unsuccessful applications for

credit to online platforms, and requiring those platforms to share the information with finance

providers. The provision of information would be subject to the agreement of the business.

Matthew Hancock

Jo Swinson

NC2

To move the following Clause—

“Sections 4 to 5: interpretation

(1)
For the purposes of sections 4 to 5, a business is a small or medium sized

business if—

(a)
it has an annual turnover of less than £25 million,

(b)
it carries out commercial activities,

(c)
it does not carry out regulated activities as its principal activity,

and

(d)
it is not owned or controlled by a public authority.


Regulations under those sections may make further provision for the

purposes of determining which businesses they apply to (including

provision about the calculation of turnover and the determination of

control).

(2)
In sections 4 to 5 and this section—

“designated bank” means a bank that has been designated by the Treasury

by virtue of section 4(7) or (Small and medium sized businesses:

information to finance platforms)(9);

“designated credit reference agency” means a credit reference agency that

has been designated by the Treasury by virtue of section 4(7);

“designated finance platform” means a finance platform that has been

designated by the Treasury by virtue of section (Small and medium sized

businesses: information to finance platforms)(9);

“finance platform” means a person that provides a service for the exchange

of information between finance providers and businesses that require

finance;

“finance provider” means a body corporate that lends money or provides

credit, or arranges or facilitates the provision of debt or equity finance, in

the course of a business (and regulations under sections 4 and (Small and

medium sized businesses: information to finance platforms) may make

further provision for the purpose of determining which finance providers

they apply to);

“public authority” has the same meaning as in the Freedom of Information

Act 2000 (see section 3 of that Act);

“regulated activities” has the same meaning as in the Financial Services and

Markets Act 2000 (see section 22 of that Act);

“subordinate legislation” has the same meaning as in the Interpretation Act

1978 (see section 21 of that Act).

(3)
The Treasury may by regulations change the figure for the time being

specified in subsection (1)(a).

Notices of Amendments:
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(4)
Before making regulations under subsection (3) the Treasury must

consult such persons as they consider appropriate.

(5)
Regulations under subsection (3) are subject to negative resolution

procedure.”

Member’s explanatory statement

This new clause defines terms used in clauses 4, 5, the new clause in amendment NC1 and this new

clause.

Matthew Hancock

Jo Swinson

NC3

To move the following Clause—

“Small and micro business regulations: further provision

(1)
The small and micro business regulations may make provision—

(a)
about the calculation of the headcount of staff, turnover and

balance sheet total of an undertaking, including provision about

the period (“assessment period”) in respect of which they are to

be calculated;

(b)
for the headcount of staff, turnover and balance sheet total, or a

proportion of such, of any undertaking which satisfies such

conditions as may be prescribed in relation to another

undertaking (the “principal undertaking”) to be treated as part of

the principal undertaking’s headcount of staff, turnover and

balance sheet total.

(2)
Conditions which may be prescribed under subsection (1)(b) include, in

particular, conditions relating to—

(a)
the extent of ownership (whether direct or indirect) of one

undertaking by one or more other undertakings;

(b)
the degree of control exercised (whether directly or indirectly)

by one or more undertakings over another.

(3)
The small and micro business regulations may make provision about—

(a)
the assessment period or periods in respect of which an

undertaking must meet the small business size conditions or the

micro business size conditions in order to be a small business or

(as the case may be) micro business;

(b)
the circumstances in which an undertaking which has been

established for less than a complete assessment period is to be

regarded as meeting the small business size conditions or the

micro business size conditions.

(4)
Provision made by virtue of subsection (3) may, in particular, provide

that—

(a)
an undertaking is a small business or a micro business if it meets

the relevant size conditions in respect of each of its two most

recent assessment periods;

(b)
where there has been only one complete assessment period since

an undertaking was established, the undertaking is a small

business or a micro business if it meets the relevant size

conditions in respect of that period;

Notices of Amendments:
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(c)
an undertaking which is a small business or a micro business

does not cease to be such unless it fails to meet the relevant size

conditions in respect of two consecutive assessment periods.

(5)
The small and micro business regulations may make provision for one

undertaking (“undertaking A”) which satisfies such conditions as may be

prescribed in relation to another undertaking (“undertaking B”), to be

treated as being undertaking B (whether or not undertaking B is still in

existence) for such purposes as may be prescribed.

(6)
Conditions which may be prescribed under subsection (5) include, in

particular, conditions relating to—

(a)
the transfer of a business from undertaking B to undertaking A;

(b)
the carrying on by undertaking A of a business on undertaking B

ceasing to carry on the activities, or most of the activities, of

which the business consists in consequence of arrangements

involving both undertakings;

(c)
the existence of some other connection between undertaking A

and undertaking B.

(7)
The purposes which may be prescribed under subsection (5) include, in

particular—

(a)
determining the date on which undertaking A was established

(and so the number of assessment periods there have been since

it was established);

(b)
determining which periods are assessment periods in respect of

undertaking A;

(c)
calculating the headcount of staff, turnover and balance sheet

total of undertaking A.

(8)
The small and micro business regulations may provide that an

undertaking of such description as may be prescribed is not a small

business or a micro business even if it falls within the relevant definition.

(9)
In this section—

“micro business size conditions”, “small business size conditions” and

“undertaking” have the same meanings as in section 30;

“prescribed” means prescribed in the small and micro business regulations.”

Member’s explanatory statement

This new clause sets out the permitted content of regulations under amendments 22 and 23

supplementing the definitions of “small” and “micro” business. This includes provision about

calculating staff headcount, turnover and balance sheet totals, aggregating data of connected

undertakings, assessment periods, anti-avoidance and exceptions.



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