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

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Callanan on 21 June (HL865), whether the answer “the UK Endorsement Board has interpreted its statutory functions in accordance with the Companies Act” means that the UK Endorsement Board has determined the suitability of accounting standards for the applicable accounting framework of the Companies Act 2006 as set out by the Written Answers by Lord Henley on 30 January 2019 (HL12948 and HL12949), namely “sections 92, 498(1)&(2), 519, 714(4), 836 and 837 Companies Act 2006”; and if so, whether there is a public record of that having happened.

The UK Endorsement Board (UKEB) is required to assess international accounting standards (IAS) in accordance with Regulation 7(1) and with regard to the matters in Regulation 7(2). The interpretation of these functions is considered by the UKEB within the context of the Companies Act. However, the UKEB is not required to assess IAS against individual sections of the Companies Act nor publish any evidence in that regard. With regards to the quoted sections of the Companies Act regarding the calculation of distributable profits, I refer the noble Baroness to my response to HL31 on 20 May 2022.