Company Law Reform Bill [HL]

My name is on these three amendments and I support the noble Baroness. Our view is that it would be better to define ““improper”” and to tackle the issue that way round. Some of these issues came up in discussions on the Serious Organised Crime and Police Bill, including confidentiality and the position of shareholders. I hope the Minister will mention in his remarks how this will wash-over or impact on the register of members kept at Companies House. Presumably a perfect way for people to get around this obstacle—for good or bad purpose—is to apply to Companies House for the register of members that is available there. If an improper purpose was found, how would that be dealt with in relation to access to Companies House records, which could provide a loophole for people who had malice aforethought? I very much support the thrust of the noble Baroness’s remarks.