[ARCHIVED CONTENT] DTI - Company Law Investigations

The Company Law Reform Bill was introduced in the House of Lords on 1 November 2005 and reached its Committee stage on 30 January 2006. The table below provides a link to the Hansard report for each debate:

The full text of the Bill and Explanatory Notes is available on the UK Parliament website. The table below provides a link to each part of the Bill and the corresponding explanatory note.

Grouping	Bill Part	Link to Bill Part	Link to Ex Note	Extra Material*
The fundamentals of what a company is, how it can be formed and what it can be called	GENERAL INTRODUCTORY PROVISIONS	P1	EN1
	COMPANY FORMATION	P2	EN2
	A COMPANY'S CONSTITUTION	P3	EN3
	A COMPANY'S CAPACITY AND RELATED MEASURES	P4	EN4
	A COMPANY'S NAME	P5	EN5
	A COMPANY'S REGISTERED OFFICE	P6	EN6
	RE-REGISTRATION AS A MEANS OF ALTERING A COMPANY'S STATUS	P7	EN7
Members (shareholders) and officers (management) of a company	MEMBERS OF A COMPANY	P8	EN8
	EXERCISE OF MEMBERS' RIGHTS	P9	EN9
	COMPANY DIRECTORS	P10	EN10
	DERIVATIVE CLAIMS AND ACTIONS BY MEMBERS	P11	EN11
	COMPANY SECRETARIES	P12	EN12
How companies may take decisions	RESOLUTIONS AND MEETINGS	P13	EN13
How companies may take decisions	CONTROL OF POLITICAL DONATIONS AND EXPENDITURE	P14	EN14
Accountability of officers to members	ACCOUNTS AND REPORTS	P15	EN15
Accountability of officers to members	AUDIT	P16	EN16
Raising share capital and takeovers	PRIVATE AND PUBLIC COMPANIES	P17	EN17
	ALLOTMENT OF SHARES	P18	EN18
	SHARE CAPITAL	P19	EN19
	TRANSFER OF SECURITIES	P20	EN20
	INFORMATION ABOUT INTERESTS IN A COMPANY'S SHARES	P21	EN21
	TAKEOVERS ETC	P22	EN22
The regulatory framework	COMPANY INVESTIGATIONS	P23	EN23
	UK COMPANIES NOT FORMED AND REGISTERED UNDER THE COMPANIES ACTS	P24	EN24
	OVERSEA COMPANIES	P25	EN25
	THE REGISTRAR OF COMPANIES	P26	EN26
	OFFENCES UNDER THE COMPANIES ACTS	P27	EN27
	COMPANIES: SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS	P28	EN28
	COMPANIES: INTERPRETATION	P29	EN29
	COMPANIES: MINOR AMENDMENTS	P30	EN30
Flexibility for the future	COMPANY LAW REFORM POWER	P31	EN31
Business names and statutory auditors	BUSINESS NAMES	P32	EN32
Business names and statutory auditors	STATUTORY AUDITORS	P33	EN33
Miscellaneous	MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS	P34	EN34
	NORTHERN IRELAND	P35	EN35
	GENERAL SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS	P36	EN36
	FINAL PROVISIONS	P37	EN37
	SCHEDULES	S	-
	TRANSPOSITION NOTES	-	TN
	GLOSSARY	-	G

*Extra material may become available on the website as the Bill progresses through Parliament.

On Monday 28 November 2005, Companies House and HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) published a joint consultation on aligning Companies House and HMRC filing dates for accounts and corporation tax. The consultation document is available on the HMRC website.

Company law will be substantially changed to make it easier to understand and more flexible - especially for small businesses. The plans will help keep the regulatory burden to a minimum, and promote shareholder engagement and a long-term investment culture.

Proposals for the Bill were published in a White Paper on 17 March 2005, supplemented by additional material published electronically on 19 July, 20 September and 14 October. The responses to the White Paper itself, except where confidentiality was requested, are available here. On 3 November, the Government issued a statement following the White Paper and related consultations.

In March 1998, the DTI launched a long-term fundamental review of core company law. This review, the Company Law Review or CLR, was led by an independent Steering Group whose aim was to develop a simple, modern, efficient and cost effective framework for carrying out business activity in Britain for the twenty-first century. The Steering Group was formed of those with particular knowledge and expertise in company law matters to oversee the management of the CLR. The CLR presented its Final Report to the Secretary of State on 26 July 2001.

The Government published an initial, partial response in a White Paper of July 2002, and then published a full statement of its proposals in the White Paper of 17 March 2005. This document included draft clauses and explanatory material on many elements of the Bill. Additional draft clauses and explanatory material have subsequently been published.

The table below provides a link to each consultation document relating to the Company Law Review.