Scamper for Rule Changes; Focus It Is the Largest Piece of Legislation in British History and Is Set to Fundamentally Change the Way That Companies Operate. Ian McDonald of Newcastle Law Firm Ward Hadaway Looks at the Implications of the Companies Act 2006

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Byline: Ian McDonald

SCAMPI is an unlikely source of controversy, but the humble shellfish sparked high-level parliamentary debate late last year.

The row centred on plans by sea food company Young's to send scampi and other shellfish caught in Scottish waters on a 12,000-mile round trip to be processed.

Instead of being hand-peeled in Annan in south-west Scotland, the fish would be sent to Thailand to be processed before being shipped all the way back to the UK. As a result, 120 workers at Young's in Annan would lose their jobs and, environmentalists contended, several more tonnes of carbon dioxide would be added to further heat up global warming.

The issue led to debate in the Scottish Parliament with one MSP asking: "How can government encourage companies to take social and environmental factors into account?"

The answer - or at least the first steps towards it - may well have been provided by the Companies Act 2006. The largest single piece of legislation in British history, weighing in at a hefty 1,300 sections, the Act overhauls and consolidates the law governing …