Companies House: key aspects of their business plan

It  set out the main stages of the implementation of the Economic Crime and Transparency Act 2023 (the ECCT Act 2023).¹

• Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency: Implement the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 to enhance powers for tackling fraud and money laundering, ensuring accurate and reliable data on the registers.
• Digital Transformation: Develop and optimize digital services to ensure 99.5% availability, focusing on user-friendly, secure, and cost-effective systems.
• Customer Service: Maintain high levels of customer satisfaction by answering calls within 4 minutes and ensuring 80% customer satisfaction.
• Workforce Development: Recruit, onboard, and train new staff while fostering a positive and inclusive culture to support the new regulatory role.

Strategic goal 1: Companies House registers and data inspiring trust and confidence

• Increasing the integrity and accuracy of information on the registers with the ability to query, remove or reject inaccurate information. The optimisation of IT infrastructure to ensure reliable and secure digital services.
• Development of the processes that ensures suppression of the personal information from the register. The changes will allow individuals who are personally at risk to apply for protection of their information.
• Eradication of the illegitimate registered office addresses (including Royal Mail PO Boxes or PO Boxes in general) by the end of March 2025 and expediting the dissolution process.

Strategic goal 2: Companies House maximises the value of its registers to the UK economy

• The goal is to enhance the value of the registers to the UK economy and encourage greater confidence, trust and use of the registers.
• They intend to focus on improving the quality and reliability of the data held on the registers.
• They aim to ensure the information supports millions of business decisions and contributes to the UK being a world-leading place to do business.
• Research is to be conducted to understand the value of information and intelligence shared with law enforcement and anti-money laundering regulated businesses.

Strategic goal 3: Companies House combats economic crime through active use of analysis and intelligence

• By the end of March 2025 Companies House plans to introduce the technical capability to verify an individual’s identity (phased roll out from Spring 2025 and beyond). All new or existing company directors and persons with significant control will be required to verify their identity either through Companies House or through authorised third parties.
• Introduction of the registration process for third party agents to become authorised corporate service providers (ACSPs) as a pre-cursor to completing an identity verification checks.
• Greater collaboration across government and law enforcement organisations to improve corporate transparency and tackle economic crime.
• Development of the services that will enable the limited partnerships reforms aiming at aligning LLPs with the requirements for limited companies.
• Greater transparency on the Register of Overseas Entities and collaboration with the UK Land Registry to identify those who have failed to comply with their obligation, targeting individuals who attempt to avoid transparency.

Strategic goal 4: Giving a great user experience

• Companies House aims to maintain high digital service availability, targeting 99.5% uptime, and continue developing new services to implement changes from the ECCT Act 2023.
• It plans to focus on optimising current IT services and infrastructure for reliability, security, and cost-effectiveness, while exploring new technologies like AI.
• It plans to work with customers and software vendors to prepare for mandatory digital filing of financial accounts.

Strategic goal 5: Companies House supports its people in achieving their potential and drives high performance

Companies House aims to foster an inclusive and empowering culture where diversity is celebrated, enabling all employees to thrive and perform at their best. As Companies House is stepping into its regulatory role, it charges what and how things are done with appreciation to its employees at the heart of their transformation. Companies House will ensure that people have skills and capabilities to deliver on their new roles as well as building talent pipelines and career paths.

Strategic goal 6: Companies House delivers value through efficient use of resources

Investment in internal resources and technology to enable operating efficiently and effectively.

Here are the key points from the section “Strategic goal 6: We deliver value through efficient use of resources”:

• Efficiency and Effectiveness: Companies House aims to operate efficiently and effectively as part of central government, leveraging opportunities for shared services and joint working.
• Evidence-Based Decisions: The organization will continue to make evidence-based decisions across all areas, including technology and process improvements.
• AI and Technology: Plans to adopt AI and other technologies to improve productivity and efficiency.
• Government Efficiency Framework: Adoption of this framework to support the delivery of efficiencies and achieve value for money.

If you have any questions about upcoming changes, at Greenwoods we have a dedicated Company Secretarial team that can assist with any queries you may have. Please reach out to us cosec@greenwoods.co.uk to see if we can assist.

¹ Companies House business plan 2024 to 2025 – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)