Mr. John Shine:

As Mr. Newham has said, it is a very complex piece of legislation. It is seeking to update some legislation which dates back to the 1890s and a whole series of amendments that have been made since then. It is a very fragmented legislative space. Work has been going on intensively in this area for over two years and we are very close to having a general scheme finalised, which will update and modernise the legislative provisions and introduce a whole range of modernisation initiatives. In some areas what we are proposing to do is to cross-reference provisions with the Companies Act, being mindful of the fact that co-operatives are very different in ways to companies. There is a lot of good stuff in the Companies Act and we certainly do not want to reinvent the wheel. There is a certain amount of cross-application that is intended and that requires very careful consideration of the Companies Act to ensure that that cross-application is appropriate. In other areas, we are basing provisions on the Companies Act but making amendments to reflect the specifics of co-operatives. We are also introducing some new provisions.

We are looking at a whole range of initiatives in relation to corporate governance, directors' duties, shares and audit exemptions. I know that that is something, in particular, that has been raised in the past. It is certainly something that we are intending to provide. In short, a lot of work has gone in, but it is a very complex piece of legislation. Even allowing for the cross-application with the Companies Act, we are looking at in the region of around 300 heads. We are quite close to having it finalised. As Mr. Newham said, the intention is to bring that general scheme to Government as early as possible in 2022.