Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Government would support another country putting public country by country reporting on the agenda for the EU Competitiveness Council meeting on 29 November 2018.

The UK has led international action to enhance tax transparency. This has included initiating the international work on country by country reporting during its G8 Presidency in 2013, and being the first country to commit to implement the OECD model for country by country reporting with legislation in the 2015 Finance Act.

The issue of public country by country reporting is not on the agenda for the EU Competitiveness Council (internal market and industry day) taking place on 29 November 2018, as agreed by EU Ambassadors. The UK has no plans to raise the issue at this meeting, although we would have no objection to another Member State raising it.

The Government believes a multilateral approach to public country by country reporting would help ensure effective implementation.