Diolch, Llywydd. I welcome this opportunity to explain the background to this legislative consent motion. The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy introduced the UK Government's Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill on 20 May, 2020. The purpose of the Bill is twofold: some provisions are specifically aimed at putting in place temporary emergency measures to help companies deal with the COVID-19 pandemic by amending company and insolvency law, introducing, for example, provisions to allow companies and similar bodies temporary flexibility to hold an annual general meeting and other general meetings electronically, by telephone or virtually, for the period between 26 March 2020 and 30 September 2020.

The remaining provisions bring forward insolvency law reforms, which the UK Government has been developing and consulting on over the last few years. Again, these measures are regarded as being particularly helpful to address issues raised by the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the Bill introduces a new moratorium into the Insolvency Act 1986, which will apply to all companies. In certain circumstances, a company will be able to apply for a moratorium, which is intended to allow a company in financial distress a breathing space to explore its rescue and restructuring options free from creditor action.

During the moratorium period, certain benefits and restrictions will apply. For example, no legal action will be able to be taken or continued against a company without leave of the court. Companies that are subject to a moratorium will remain under the control of their directors, but will also be overseen by a monitor, a licence insolvency practitioner, who is an officer of the court.

As I mentioned, the Bill will apply to all UK companies. Insolvency generally is a reserved matter and so the provisions would apply across the UK. And understandably perhaps, in view of the COVID-19 situation, the Bill is being fast-tracked through the UK Parliament. Royal Assent is expected by the end of June.

On 5 May my officials were contacted by officials from the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Department, as it became apparent that the Bill provisions impacted on existing insolvency provisions in housing legislation, which are designed to help if a registered social landlord should get into financial difficulties. These provisions, contained in the Housing Act 1996, also include for a moratorium period, which provides time for the Welsh Ministers, as regulator of social housing, to work with the RSL to resolve issues, primarily to find a solution that enables the social housing assets to be retained in the regulated social housing sector, in turn protecting tenants. Regretfully, the fast-tracking of the Bill has meant that the usual committee scrutiny of the legislative consent memorandum has not been possible, and so this debate has been extended to provide Members with the opportunity for their views to be heard.

A very small number of RSLs in Wales are registered companies, and so the Bill's moratorium provisions will apply to them. The moratorium provisions will not, however, apply to other forms of RSL, such as registered societies or charitable incorporated organisations. This results in different insolvency provisions for different types of RSLs in Wales and a clear potential for the proposed new insolvency moratorium to conflict with the existing arrangements, which apply to all forms of RSL in Wales.

In the time available, it has not been possible to fully assess the implications of the new provisions, given the extensive insolvency powers that already exist. For that reason, I agree that officials should seek provisions in the Bill to enable the Welsh Ministers to be able to apply, disapply or modify the provisions by secondary legislation, in order to ensure that the provisions in the Bill relating to the moratorium operate in a way that is complementary to the existing RSL insolvency provisions in Wales, and maintain the Welsh Ministers' existing powers and functions to deal with the RSL insolvencies, as set out in the Housing Act 1996, to achieve the desired outcomes of that insolvency regime—the main one being the protection of social housing stock and assets and the protection of tenants—and to ensure that the provisions within the Bill relating to the moratorium operate, in so far as they can, in a way that is consistent for all forms of RSL in Wales.

The Bill, as introduced, has therefore been drafted to take account of the policy intentions, where that was possible, and now makes various specific provisions for the Welsh Ministers. There are reasonable legal arguments that the provisions for the Welsh Ministers are within the legislative competence of the Senedd, and I therefore believe that the legislative consent of the Senedd should be sought. However, whilst I believe the provisions fall within the legislative competence of the Senedd, I am content that they should be made in the UK Government Bill for reasons of expedience, in view of the subject matter.

I therefore move the motion and ask the Senedd to approve this legislative consent motion. Diolch.