Company Law Reform Bill [HL]

I thank the noble Lord, Lord Freeman, for raising this matter again in the manner in which he did, and for feeding back on his visit to Companies House, and my noble friend Lord Clinton-Davis for his comments. We share an experience of, in our youth, being sent down to Companies House. In my case there was the conflicting pressure of a pub between the office and Companies House, which we always resisted, but it was not always easy—I promise. I regret that this amendment would benefit few directors. Once an address has been on the record at Companies House, it is readily available from many other sources, many free, whether over the internet or through directories available in reference libraries. I think that we touched on this when we debated the matter earlier in the Bill. Nevertheless, I agree that there may be circumstances in which it is useful for it to be possible for a director’s address to be removed from the public record in the way that has been described, particularly in the circumstances that have been instanced here. We need to think through how that might best be accomplished. Therefore, we agree to consider this amendment and possibly to bring something back in due course. Again, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Freeman, for raising it.