Corporate Transparency and Register Reform Powers of the Registrar

Overview

On 18 September 2020, the Government published a response to the Corporate Transparency and Register Reform Consultation. It set out a broad package of reforms to Companies House to ensure it is fit for the future and continues to make a valuable contribution to the UK’s business environment. The proposed reforms are also designed to give Companies House a more effective role in assisting the Government’s wider efforts to tackle economic crime affecting the UK by improving the integrity of the information available about companies and other business entities. 

The Government response also noted that we would consult further on certain aspects of the reform package. This consultation provides more details on our proposed approach to the Registrar’s power to query information, and changes to the Registrar’s existing powers. Responses will inform the parameters of both. The 2019 consultation also asked stakeholders whether Companies House should be able to query, and possibly reject, company names before they are registered. Stakeholders agreed with this proposal and our broad proposals for this aspect of the querying power are outlined in this consultation. 

Other matters considered within this consultation include the widening or reframing of the Registrar’s current administrative removal powers; the requirement for digital filing; the obligation for companies to keep a Register of Directors; and changes to other statutory registers and the register election regime. 

What happens next

Following this consultation, we will analyse responses and issue a response. These proposals will be implemented alongside proposals set out in the Corporate Transparency and Register Reform government response. They will require primary legislation to implement, as well as being dependent on funding for the associated operational changes at Companies House.