Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill (HC Bill 11)

EXPLANATORY NOTES

Explanatory notes to the Bill, prepared by the Department for Business, Innovation
and Skills, are published separately as Bill 11-EN.

EUROPEAN CONVENTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS

Secretary Vince Cable has made the following statement under section 19(1)(a) of the
Human Rights Act 1998:

In my view the provisions of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill are
compatible with the Convention rights.

Contents

  1. Part 1

    Access to finance

    1. Assignment of receivables

      1. 1. Power to invalidate certain restrictive terms of business contracts

      2. 2. Section 1(4)(a): meaning of “financial services”

    2. Business payment practices

      1. 3. Companies: duty to publish report on payment practices

    3. Credit information

      1. 4. Provision of credit information on small and medium sized businesses

      2. 5. Section 4: supplementary provision

      3. 6. Disclosure of VAT registration information

      4. 7. Offences for the purposes of section 6

    4. Exports

      1. 8. Disclosure of exporter information

      2. 9. Power of the Secretary of State under section 1 of the EIGA 1991

      3. 10. EIGA 1991: further amendments

    5. Presentment of cheques etc

      1. 11. Electronic paying in of cheques etc

    6. Payment systems

      1. 12. Restriction on powers of the Payment Systems Regulator

  2. Part 2

    Regulatory reform

    1. Streamlined company registration

      1. 13. Target for streamlined company registration

      2. 14. Streamlined company registration: duty to report on progress

    2. Review of business appeals procedures

      1. 15. Review of regulators’ complaints and appeals procedures

      2. 16. Power to specify regulatory functions

      3. 17. Guidance by the Secretary of State

    3. Business impact target

      1. 18. Duty on Secretary of State to publish business impact target etc

      2. 19. Sections 18 and 20 to 22: “qualifying regulatory provisions” etc

      3. 20. Duty on Secretary of State to publish reports

      4. 21. Additional matters to be included in reports

      5. 22. Appointment of body to verify assessments and lists in reports

      6. 23. Amending the business impact target etc

      7. 24. Sections 18 to 22 etc: interpretation

    4. Secondary legislation: duty to review

      1. 25. Duty to review regulatory provisions in secondary legislation

      2. 26. Section 25(1)(b): interpretation

      3. 27. Section 25(2)(a): “provision for review”

      4. 28. Section 25(2)(b): appropriateness of making provision for review

      5. 29. Sections 25 to 28 etc: supplementary

    5. Definitions of small and micro business

      1. 30. Definitions of small and micro business

    6. CMA recommendations

      1. 31. CMA to publish recommendations on proposals for Westminster legislation

    7. Liability of bodies concerned with accounting standards

      1. 32. Exemption from liability for bodies concerned with accounting standards etc

  3. Part 3

    Public sector procurement

    1. 33. Regulations about procurement

    2. 34. Investigation of procurement functions

  4. Part 4

    The Pubs Code Adjudicator and the Pubs Code

    1. The Pubs Code Adjudicator

      1. 35. The Adjudicator

    2. The Pubs Code

      1. 36. The Pubs Code

      2. 37. Review of the Pubs Code

      3. 38. Inconsistency with Pubs Code etc

    3. Arbitration by Adjudicator

      1. 39. Referral for arbitration by tied pub tenants

      2. 40. Timing of referral for arbitration by tied pub tenants

      3. 41. Arbitration commenced by pub-owning businesses

      4. 42. Arbitration: supplementary

      5. 43. Information about arbitration

    4. Investigations by Adjudicator

      1. 44. Investigations

      2. 45. Investigation reports

      3. 46. Forms of enforcement

      4. 47. Recommendations

      5. 48. Requirements to publish information

      6. 49. Financial penalties

      7. 50. Recovery of investigation costs

    5. Advice and guidance by Adjudicator

      1. 51. Advice

      2. 52. Guidance

    6. Adjudicator’s reporting requirements

      1. 53. Annual report

    7. Funding of Adjudicator

      1. 54. Levy funding

      2. 55. Loans by Secretary of State

    8. Supervision of Adjudicator

      1. 56. Review of Adjudicator and guidance from Secretary of State

      2. 57. Abolition of Adjudicator

      3. 58. Information to Secretary of State

    9. Interpretation of this Part

      1. 59. “Tied pub”

      2. 60. “Pub-owning business” and “large pub-owning business”

      3. 61. “Tied pub tenant”, “landlord” and “tenancy”

      4. 62. Interpretation: other provision

    10. Regulations under this Part

      1. 63. Regulations under this Part

  5. Part 5

    Childcare and schools

    1. 64. Exemption from requirement to register as early years provider

    2. 65. Childminding other than on domestic premises

    3. 66. Registration of childcare: premises

  6. Part 6

    Education evaluation

    1. 67. Assessments of effectiveness

    2. 68. Qualifications

    3. 69. Destinations

  7. Part 7

    Companies: Transparency

    1. Register of people with significant control

      1. 70. Register of people with significant control

      2. 71. Review of provisions about PSC registers

    2. Register of interests disclosed

      1. 72. Amendment of section 813 of the Companies Act 2006

    3. Abolition of share warrants to bearer

      1. 73. Abolition of share warrants to bearer

      2. 74. Amendment of company’s articles to reflect abolition of share warrants

      3. 75. Review of section 73

    4. Corporate directors

      1. 76. Requirement for all company directors to be natural persons

      2. 77. Review of section 76

    5. Shadow directors

      1. 78. Application of directors’ general duties to shadow directors

      2. 79. Shadow directors: definition

  8. Part 8

    Company filing requirements

    1. Annual return reform

      1. 80. Duty to deliver confirmation statement instead of annual return

      2. 81. Section 80: related amendments

    2. Additional information on the register

      1. 82. Option for companies to keep information on central register

      2. 83. Recording of optional information on register

    3. Directors’ dates of birth

      1. 84. Protection of information about a person’s date of birth

    4. Statements of capital etc

      1. 85. Contents of statements of capital

      2. 86. Public companies: information about aggregate amount paid up on shares

    5. Registered office disputes

      1. 87. Address of company registered office

    6. Director disputes

      1. 88. Company filing requirements: consent to act as director or secretary

      2. 89. Registrar’s duty to inform new directors of entry in register

      3. 90. Removal from register of material about directors

    7. Accelerated strike-off

      1. 91. Reduction in notice periods etc for striking off companies

  9. Part 9

    Directors’ disqualification etc

    1. New grounds for disqualification

      1. 92. Convictions abroad

      2. 93. Persons instructing unfit director

    2. Determining unfitness

      1. 94. Determining unfitness and disqualifications: matters to be taken into account

      2. 95. Reports of office-holders on conduct of directors of insolvent companies

    3. Director disqualification: other amendments

      1. 96. Unfit directors of insolvent companies: extension of period for applying for
        disqualification order

      2. 97. Directors: removal of restriction on application for disqualification order

    4. Compensation awards

      1. 98. Compensation orders and undertakings

    5. Consequential amendments and corresponding provision for Northern Ireland

      1. 99. Sections 92 to 98: consequential and related amendments

      2. 100. Provision for Northern Ireland corresponding to sections 92 to 99

    6. Bankruptcy: Scotland and Northern Ireland

      1. 101. Disqualification as director: bankruptcy, etc in Scotland and Northern Ireland

      2. 102. Company Directors Disqualification (Northern Ireland) Order 2002:
        bankruptcy, etc in England and Wales or Scotland

      3. 103. Disqualification as insolvency practitioner: bankruptcy, etc in Scotland or
        Northern Ireland

      4. 104. Disqualification as insolvency practitioner in Northern Ireland: bankruptcy,
        etc in England and Wales or Scotland

  10. Part 10

    Insolvency

    1. Office-holder actions

      1. 105. Power for administrator to bring claim for fraudulent or wrongful trading

      2. 106. Power for liquidator or administrator to assign causes of action

      3. 107. Proceeds of office-holder claims not part of general assets of company

    2. Removing requirements to seek sanction

      1. 108. Exercise of powers by liquidator: removal of need for sanction

      2. 109. Exercise of powers by trustee in bankruptcy: removal of need for sanction

    3. Position of creditors

      1. 110. Abolition of requirements to hold meetings: company insolvency

      2. 111. Abolition of requirements to hold meetings: individual insolvency

      3. 112. Ability for creditors to opt not to receive certain notices: company insolvency

      4. 113. Ability for creditors to opt not to receive certain notices: individual
        insolvency

      5. 114. Sections 110 to 113: further amendments

    4. Administration

      1. 115. Extension of administrator’s term of office

      2. 116. Administration: payments to unsecured creditors

      3. 117. Administration: sales to connected persons

      4. 118. Attachment of floating charges on administration (Scotland)

    5. Small debts

      1. 119. Creditors not required to prove small debts: company insolvency

      2. 120. Creditors not required to prove small debts: individual insolvency

    6. Trustees in bankruptcy

      1. 121. Trustees in bankruptcy

    7. Voluntary arrangements

      1. 122. Time limit for challenging IVAs

      2. 123. Abolition of fast-track voluntary arrangements

    8. Progress reports

      1. 124. Voluntary winding-up: progress reports

    9. Regulation of insolvency practitioners: amendments to existing regime

      1. 125. Recognised professional bodies: recognition

      2. 126. Regulatory objectives

      3. 127. Oversight of recognised professional bodies

      4. 128. Recognised professional bodies: revocation of recognition

      5. 129. Court sanction of insolvency practitioners in public interest cases

      6. 130. Power for Secretary of State to obtain information

      7. 131. Compliance orders

    10. Power to establish single regulator of insolvency practitioners

      1. 132. Power to establish single regulator of insolvency practitioners

      2. 133. Regulations under section 132: designation of existing body

      3. 134. Regulations under section 132: timing and supplementary

  11. Part 11

    Employment

    1. Whistleblowing

      1. 135. Protected disclosures: reporting requirements

    2. Employment tribunals: failure to pay sums

      1. 136. Financial penalty for failure to pay sums ordered by employment tribunal etc

    3. Employment tribunals: postponements

      1. 137. Employment tribunal procedure regulations: postponements

    4. National minimum wage

      1. 138. Amount of financial penalty for underpayment of national minimum wage

    5. Exclusivity in zero hours contracts

      1. 139. Exclusivity terms unenforceable in zero hours contracts

    6. Public sector exit payments

      1. 140. Regulations in connection with public sector exit payments

      2. 141. Section 140(1): further provision

      3. 142. Power of Secretary of State to waive repayment requirement

  12. Part 12

    General

    1. 143. Consequential amendments, repeals and revocations

    2. 144. Transitional, transitory or saving provision

    3. 145. Supplementary provision about regulations

    4. 146. Financial provisions

    5. 147. Extent

    6. 148. Commencement

    7. 149. Short title

    1. Schedule 1

      The Pubs Code Adjudicator

      1. Part 1

        The Pubs Code Adjudicator

      2. Part 2

        Information powers of the Pubs Code Adjudicator

      3. Part 3

        Amendments of legislation

    2. Schedule 2

      Registration of childcare: premises

    3. Schedule 3

      Register of people with significant control

      1. Part 1

        Duty to obtain information and keep register

      2. Part 2

        Related amendments

    4. Schedule 4

      Abolition of share warrants to bearer

      1. Part 1

        Arrangements for conversion and cancellation of existing
        share warrants

      2. Part 2

        Consequential amendments

    5. Schedule 5

      Option to keep information on central register

      1. Part 1

        Creation of the option

      2. Part 2

        Related amendments

    6. Schedule 6

      Contents of statements of capital

    7. Schedule 7

      Sections 92 to 98: consequential and related amendments

      1. Part 1

        Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986

      2. Part 2

        Other enactments

    8. Schedule 8

      Northern Ireland: provision corresponding to sections 92 to 99

    9. Schedule 9

      Trustees in bankruptcy

    10. Schedule 10

      Single regulator of insolvency practitioners: supplementary
      provision