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Companies (Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2008

rose to move, That the draft regulations laid before the House on 17 December 2007 be approved. The noble Baroness said: My Lords, the Companies (Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2008 ensure that anyone doing business with a company, or who has a complaint against a company, can easily discover its legal identity. The registered name of the company is sufficient for anyone to access the information that a company is required to make public by filing at Companies House. The regulations require that the registered name be included in all forms of business communication and documentation and in applications for licences. They also require every company’s name to be displayed at its registered office, at any place where its records can be inspected and at any other premises at which it carries on business, provided that those other premises are not used primarily for living accommodation. The exception for living accommodation is new. It is in response to concerns expressed during consultation that company signs at homes may place people at risk. Every name on the registrar’s index of company names is unique. For a UK company, its name is all that is needed for anyone to find information about it on the public record. However, other jurisdictions could also have companies with the same name. The regulations therefore require the place of registration and the registration number, together with the address of the company’s registered office, to appear in business letters, order forms and websites. These regulations replace requirements that are currently under both the Companies Act 1985 and the Business Names Act 1985, and the corresponding Northern Ireland legislation. Companies that carry on business under a name other than their registered name are also subject to the Business Names Act 1985. At present, these companies have to comply with both sets of requirements. The companies that have the double set of requirements include many of our largest companies, as well as small companies, particularly retailers. By replacing these two sets of requirements with a single set of regulations, it has been possible to reduce the total burden on those companies that are subject to both. I commend these regulations to the House and I beg to move. Moved, That the draft regulations laid before the House on 17 December 2007 be approved. 6th Report from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments.—(Baroness Vadera.) On Question, Motion agreed to.