Official Report: Minutes of Evidence
Committee for the Economy, meeting on Wednesday, 26 November 2025
Members present for all or part of the proceedings:
Mr Phillip Brett (Chairperson)
Mr Gary Middleton (Deputy Chairperson)
Ms Diana Armstrong
Mr Pádraig Delargy
Mr David Honeyford
Ms Sinéad McLaughlin
Ms Kate Nicholl
Witnesses:
Mr Richard Monds, Department for the Economy
Mr Jack Reid, Department for the Economy
Insolvency (Amendment) Bill: Formal Clause-by-clause Scrutiny
The Chairperson (Mr Brett): I welcome our friends and colleagues from the Department Jack Reid and Richard Monds. Are members content that the session is reported by Hansard?
Members indicated assent.
Question, That the Committee is content with clause 1, put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clauses 2 to 4, put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clauses 5 and 6, put and agreed to.
Clause 7 (Abolition of requirements to hold meetings: company insolvency)
The Chairperson (Mr Brett): There are no amendments to clause 7, at this stage. Colleagues, would you like to say anything about clause 7?
Mr Richard Monds (Department for the Economy): No.
Question, That the Committee is content with clause 7, put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clause 8, put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clauses 9 and 10, put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clauses 11 to 13, put and agreed to.
The Chairperson (Mr Brett): The Committee was informally content with clauses 14 to 20, subject to reassurances in respect of virtual meetings, which have now been agreed. Is that correct, colleagues?
Question, That the Committee is content with clauses 14 to 20, put and agreed to.
The Chairperson (Mr Brett): The Committee was informally content with clauses 21 and 22, subject to reassurances in respect of virtual meetings, which have now been agreed.
Question, That the Committee is content with clauses 21 and 22, put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clauses 23 and 24, put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clauses 25 to 58, put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clauses 59 to 62, put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clauses 63 to 73, put and agreed to.
The Chairperson (Mr Brett): The Committee was informally content with clauses 74 to 87, subject to further reassurances from the Department in respect of clause 85, and whether Northern Ireland would be in the same position as England and Wales. Our evidence, to date, has suggested that that is the case. Is that correct?
Mr Jack Reid (Department for the Economy): Yes.
Question, That the Committee is content with clauses 74 to 87, put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clauses 88 and 89, put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clauses 90 and 91, put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clause 92, put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clause 93, put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clauses 94 to 100, put and agreed to.
Clause 101 (Remote attendance at meetings and use of websites)
The Chairperson (Mr Brett): The Committee was informally content with clause 101, subject to reassurances in respect of virtual meetings, which have now been agreed. Is that correct?
Question, That the Committee is content with clause 101, put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clauses 102 to 106, put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clauses 107 to 117, put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clause 118, put and agreed to.
Clause 119 (Power to make consequential amendments, repeals and revocations)
The Chairperson (Mr Brett): The Committee was informally content with clause 119, subject to the inclusion of a departmental amendment. Is that still the case?
Question, That the Committee is content with clause 119, subject to the proposed amendment, put and agreed to.
Question, That the Committee is content with clauses 120 and 121, put and agreed to.
The Chairperson (Mr Brett): The Committee was informally content with the schedules, subject to reassurances in relation to virtual meetings, which have now been agreed.
Question, That the Committee is content with schedules 1 to 4, put and agreed to.
The Chairperson (Mr Brett): I move now to other matters. Consideration was given by the Committee to petitioning for insolvency without a court judgement. Would you like to say anything about that, at this stage?
Mr Monds: We have nothing to add to what we said previously.
The Chairperson (Mr Brett): That is perfect; no problem. Is the Committee content to accept the Department's explanation and forego any amendment?
Members indicated assent.
Question, That the Committee is content with the long title, put and agreed to.
The Chairperson (Mr Brett): I thank the officials and members for their work. The Committee Stage of the Insolvency (Amendment) Bill has concluded, subject to the agreement of the Committee report. Are members content?
Members indicated assent.