Companies: Overseas Territories Registration

Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho Excerpts

Wednesday 20th April 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

My Lords, we will be pressing all those who attend the conference to pursue greater transparency. We have made it clear that the global gold standard ought to be public, central registers of beneficial ownership. We will say that to our great friends and to those who are not perhaps such close friends but will be there and will, I hope, be our close friends by the end.

[Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho (CB)]

I declare an interest as a non-exec of the Open Data Institute. Is the Minister aware of the work of the Open Data Institute and many of the interesting not-for-profit start-ups working in the open data space specifically on this issue? I point to one, as an example: OpenCorporates. I urge the Minister to keep using open data as one of the major levers in this transparency piece.

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

I agree entirely with the view that the noble Baroness expressed.