Filenews 30 November 2020
Three bills on Brexit, local government reform and Social Enterprise discussed or concluded their debate, the House Of Commons Home Affairs Committee today.
Commission President Eleni Mavrou said they also decided to extend the time for the registration of an assignment contract in the Land Registry from two to six months because of the restrictive measures for the pandemic.
Brexit and British nationals in Cyprus
Arrangements concerning the rights of British nationals residing and working in Cyprus in the run-up to Brexit were discussed by the Home Affairs Committee, said Eleni Mavrou, who said - as she said - that "the same arrangements will apply to Cypriot nationals in the UK."
The arrangements will also depend on the decisions to be taken at the European Council in a few days' time, he said, noting that these provisions will be implemented subject to what is decided in the Council.
The Social Enterprise Act
In the coming days, the Social Enterprises Act, the debate of which was concluded today in the Committee on the Interior, is being led to the plenary session of the House, substantially revising the list of vulnerable groups included in the annex to the law, Ms Mavrou said. They were concerned, he explained, with the inclusion under special conditions of people with disabilities, HIV-positive and other groups. "It will give a boost to the creation of social enterprises which in the European area are a widespread and very constructive institution".
This is explained by Mrs Mavrou, a new institution of companies that either pay a large part of their profits for social purposes, up to 70%, or employ a significant proportion, at least 40%, from vulnerable groups. These businesses benefit from special tax and other arrangements, he added, on the grounds that they pay back to society one way or another. They are very specific and strict, he noted, the conditions for being considered a social enterprise.
Local Reform
They have completed the discussion of the bills on communities and provincial organisations relating to Local Reform, the Chairman of the Home Affairs Committee said, and after the legislative changes – as she explained – they will hear the final views from both the Association of Municipalities, Communities and the relevant Ministry, in an attempt to take the relevant bills to plenary early in the new year.
Eyenews/AFP
