Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what budget has been allocated for staff of HM Revenue and Customs dealing with the regulation of company formation agents.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is responsible for supervising the activities of some 2,600 businesses in the trust and company service providers sector under the Money Laundering Regulations, some of which undertake company formation activity on behalf of clients. Company formation is also carried out directly by Companies House, as well as by others such as lawyers and accountants that are not supervised by HMRC for the purposes of the Money Laundering Regulations.

The staff employed in supervisory, intelligence and prosecutory functions are contained within a variety of lines of business in HMRC. As such the number of staff and budget dedicated specifically to company formation agents is variable and cannot be identified.

There is a range of scenarios in which HMRC actions might result in a company formation agency stopping such activity, hence the information requested is not readily available.