House of Commons Public Bill Committee Proceedings

House of Commons

Session 2006 - 07
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Other Bills before Parliament

23

House of Commons

Thursday 21st June 2007

Public Bill Committee Proceedings

Legal Services Bill [Lords]

[SEVENTH AND EIGHTH SITTINGS]

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to on division  7

Clause  83,  page  48,  line  24,  leave out paragraph (e).

Clause, as amended, Agreed to.

Mr Jonathan Djanogly

Mr Henry Bellingham

Mr Tobias Ellwood

Simon Hughes

John Hemming

Withdrawn  211

Schedule  11,  page  183,  line  8,  at end insert—

‘( )
Licensing rules may provide for fees to cover the whole cost to the licensing

authority of dealing with the application, whether the application is granted or

not.’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  134

Schedule  11,  page  189,  line  43,  leave out ‘an interest in shares in the body’ and

insert ‘a shareholding in the licensed body, or a parent undertaking of the licensed body,’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  135

Schedule  11,  page  189,  line  44,  at end insert—

‘( )
if the relevant licensing rules make the provision mentioned in

paragraph 38(1)(aa) of that Schedule, a non-authorised person has

under those rules an entitlement to exercise, or control the exercise of,

voting rights in the licensed body or a parent undertaking of the

licensed body which exceeds the voting limit,’.

Public Bill Committee Proceedings: 21st June 2007
24

Legal Services Bill [Lords], continued

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  136

Schedule  11,  page  190,  line  1,  leave out ‘in which non-authorised persons have an

interest’ and insert ‘or a parent undertaking of the licensed body held by non-authorised

persons’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  137

Schedule  11,  page  190,  line  2,  at end insert—

‘( )
if the relevant licensing rules make the provision mentioned in

paragraph 38(1)(c) of that Schedule, the total proportion of voting

rights in the licensed body or a parent undertaking of the licensed body

which non-authorised persons are entitled to exercise, or control the

exercise of, exceeds the limit specified in the rules.’.

Schedule, as amended, Agreed to.

Clause 84 Agreed to.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to on division  138

Schedule  12,  page  191,  line  24,  leave out ‘a’ and insert ‘an independent’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  139

Schedule  12,  page  193,  line  24,  leave out ‘in shares’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  140

Schedule  12,  page  193,  line  26,  leave out ‘in shares’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  141

Schedule  12,  page  193,  line  29,  leave out ‘in shares’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  142

Schedule  12,  page  193,  line  31,  leave out ‘in shares’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  143

Schedule  12,  page  193,  line  32,  at end insert—

‘( )
the kinds of non-authorised persons who have an indirect interest in

the licensable body.’.

Schedule, as amended, Agreed to.

Public Bill Committee Proceedings: 21st June 2007
25

Legal Services Bill [Lords], continued

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  113

Clause  85,  page  49,  line  39,  leave out ‘persons having an interest in shares,’ and

insert ‘non-authorised persons having an interest or an indirect interest,’.

Clause, as amended, Agreed to.

Clauses 86 to 89 Agreed to.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  144

Schedule  13,  page  194,  line  25,  leave out ‘has an interest in’ and insert ‘holds’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  145

Schedule  13,  page  194,  line  27,  leave out ‘interest in shares’ and insert

‘shareholding’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  146

Schedule  13,  page  194,  line  28,  leave out ‘has an interest in’ and insert ‘holds’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  147

Schedule  13,  page  194,  line  31,  leave out ‘interest in shares’ and insert

‘shareholding’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  148

Schedule  13,  page  194,  line  32,  leave out paragraph (e) and insert—

‘( )
is entitled to exercise, or control the exercise of, voting power in B

which, if it consists of voting rights, constitutes at least 10% of the

voting rights in B,’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  149

Schedule  13,  page  194,  line  35,  leave out ‘voting power in B’ and insert

‘entitlement to exercise, or control the exercise of, voting rights in B’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  150

Schedule  13,  page  194,  line  36,  leave out paragraph (g) and insert—

‘( )
is entitled to exercise, or control the exercise of, voting power in P

which, if it consists of voting rights, constitutes at least 10% of the

voting rights in P,’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  151

Schedule  13,  page  194,  line  39,  leave out ‘voting power in P’ and insert

‘entitlement to exercise, or control the exercise of, voting rights in P’.

Public Bill Committee Proceedings: 21st June 2007
26

Legal Services Bill [Lords], continued

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  152

Schedule  13,  page  195,  line  15,  leave out ‘has an interest in’ and insert ‘holds’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  153

Schedule  13,  page  195,  line  16,  leave out ‘has an interest in’ and insert ‘holds’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  154

Schedule  13,  page  195,  line  19,  leave out ‘power’ and insert ‘rights’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  155

Schedule  13,  page  195,  line  21,  leave out ‘power’ and insert ‘rights’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  156

Schedule  13,  page  196,  line  1,  leave out ‘an interest in the shares of’ and insert ‘a

shareholding in’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  157

Schedule  13,  page  196,  line  20,  after ‘V’, insert ‘(whether or not they are interests

within the meaning of section 72(2A))’.

Mr Jonathan Djanogly

Mr Henry Bellingham

Mr Tobias Ellwood

Simon Hughes

John Hemming

Negatived on division  212

Schedule  13,  page  197,  line  11,  at end insert ‘Licensing rules must provide that, in

determining whether the requirements of sub-paragraph 1 are met, the burden of proof

rests on the person who wishes to hold the restricted interest.’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  158

Schedule  13,  page  197,  line  15,  leave out ‘an interest in’ and insert ‘holding’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  159

Schedule  13,  page  197,  line  18,  leave out ‘power’ and insert ‘rights’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  160

Schedule  13,  page  197,  line  24,  leave out ‘an interest in’ and insert ‘holding’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  161

Schedule  13,  page  197,  line  27,  leave out ‘power’ and insert ‘rights’.

Public Bill Committee Proceedings: 21st June 2007
27

Legal Services Bill [Lords], continued

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  162

Schedule  13,  page  208,  line  29,  leave out ‘an interest in shares in a licensed body’

and insert ‘a shareholding in a licensed body, or in a parent undertaking of a licensed

body,’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  163

Schedule  13,  page  208,  line  31,  at end insert—

‘(aa)
a non-authorised person may not have an entitlement to exercise, or

control the exercise of, voting rights in a licensable body, or a parent

undertaking of a licensable body, which exceeds a limit specified in

the rules (“the voting limit”);’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  164

Schedule  13,  page  208,  line  32,  leave out ‘in which non-authorised persons have an

interest’ and insert ‘, or a parent undertaking of a licensed body, held by non-authorised

persons’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  165

Schedule  13,  page  208,  line  34,  at end insert—

‘(c)
the total proportion of voting rights in a licensed body, or a parent

undertaking of a licensed body, which non-authorised persons are

entitled to exercise or control the exercise of, may not exceed a limit

specified in the rules.

( )
Rules made under any paragraph of sub-paragraph (1) in relation to a licensed

body and a parent undertaking may specify different limits in relation to the

licensed body and the parent undertaking.’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  166

Schedule  13,  page  208,  line  35,  leave out from ‘(1)(a)’ to end of line 37 and insert

‘or (aa) may provide that references in those rules to a person, in relation to a person’s

shareholding or entitlement to exercise or control the exercise of voting rights, are to—

(a)
the person,

(b)
any of the person’s associates, or

(c)
the person and any of the person’s associates taken together.’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  167

Schedule  13,  page  209,  line  2,  after ‘body’, insert ‘, or a parent undertaking of a

licensed body,’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  168

Schedule  13,  page  209,  line  4,  at end insert ‘or (aa) in relation to the body.’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  169

Schedule  13,  page  209,  line  5,  leave out from ‘acquires’ to ‘and’ in line 6 and insert

‘—

Public Bill Committee Proceedings: 21st June 2007
28

Legal Services Bill [Lords], continued

(a)
a shareholding in the body which exceeds the share limit, or

(b)
an entitlement to exercise, or control the exercise of, voting rights in

the body which exceeds the voting limit,


must notify the body (and, if the body is a parent undertaking of a licensed

body, the licensed body)’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  170

Schedule  13,  page  209,  line  21,   leave out ‘licensed body’ and insert ‘body (and, if

the body is a parent undertaking of a licensed body, the licensed body)’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  171

Schedule  13,  page  209,  line  33,   leave out paragraph 41.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  172

Schedule  13,  page  209,  line  38,   leave out ‘relevant’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  173

Schedule  13,  page  210,  line  2,   leave out ‘interest in shares in any body’ and insert

‘shareholding in a body corporate with a share capital’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  174

Schedule  13,  page  210,  line  12,   leave out sub-paragraph (3) and insert—

      ‘()
In sub-paragraph (1)(b), references to a person’s shareholding are to be read in

accordance with paragraph 3(3) or 4(2) (as the case may be).’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  175

Schedule  13,  page  210,  line  15,   after ‘38(1)(a)’, insert ‘or (aa)’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  176

Schedule  13,  page  210,  line  16,   leave out from ‘a’ to end of line 17 and insert

‘licensed body if—

(a)
the person’s shareholding in the body, or a parent undertaking of the

body, exceeds the share limit, and the body or parent undertaking (as

the case may be) is a body corporate with a share capital, or

(b)
the person’s entitlement to exercise or control the exercise of voting

rights in the body, or a parent undertaking of the body, exceeds the

voting limit by virtue of the person holding shares in a body corporate

with a share capital.’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  177

Schedule  13,  page  210,  line  18,   leave out from ‘means’ to end of line 19 and

insert—

‘(a)
in a case within sub-paragraph (1)(a), the number of shares by which

the person’s shareholding exceeds the share limit, and

Public Bill Committee Proceedings: 21st June 2007
29

Legal Services Bill [Lords], continued

(b)
in a case within sub-paragraph (1)(b), the number of shares held by the

person in excess of the number of shares the person could hold without

the person’s entitlement to exercise, or control the exercise of, voting

rights exceeding the voting limit.’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  178

Schedule  13,  page  210,  line  20,   leave out sub-paragraph (3) and insert—

      ‘()
References in this paragraph to a person’s shareholding (or holding of shares)

or entitlement are to be read in accordance with any applicable licensing rules

made under paragraph 38(2).’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  179

Schedule  13,  page  210,  line  25,   leave out ‘relevant’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  180

Schedule  13,  page  213,  line  20,   at end insert ‘or (aa).’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  181

Schedule  13,  page  213,  line  22,   leave out from ‘where’ to end of line 24 and insert

‘a non-authorised person acquires—

(a)
a shareholding in a licensed body or parent undertaking of a licensed

body which exceeds the share limit, or

(b)
an entitlement to exercise, or control the exercise of, voting rights in a

licensed body or parent undertaking of a licensed body which exceeds

the voting limit.’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  182

Schedule  13,  page  213,  line  36,   at end insert—

‘( )
If the share limit or voting limit is breached in relation to a parent undertaking of

a licensed body, references in sub-paragraphs (3) and (6) to the licensed body

include the parent undertaking.’.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  183

Schedule  13,  page  214,  line  7,   at end insert—

‘( )
If the share limit or voting limit is breached in relation to a parent undertaking of

a licensed body, references in sub-paragraphs (1) and (5) to the licensed body

include the parent undertaking.’.

Schedule, as amended, Agreed to.

Bridget Prentice

Agreed to  114

Clause  90,  page  51,  line  10,  leave out ‘or has an interest in shares’ and insert ‘or has

an interest or an indirect interest’.