Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking (1) to prevent companies from wrongly listing a foreign company as a person of significant control in the Companies House register, and (2) to ensure that those identified as having done so either correct their entry or are prosecuted for not doing so.

In limited cases, a foreign company can be a relevant legal entity (RLE) and can be legitimately recorded as a UK company's person with significant control ("PSC"). The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 will introduce new requirements which will allow Companies House to collect and display more information about RLEs. If the RLE is a listed company, the UK company must say which market the RLE is listed on. This will give assurance that the RLE meets the conditions as claimed. Where the Registrar identifies or receives complaints about gaps or inaccuracies in a company’s PSC register, she will take the action required to achieve compliance.