Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of company directors successfully completed their identity verification with Companies House by the deadline of 18 November 2025; and whether feedback is being sought on the difficulties of completing the web-based verification process.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Directors were not required to verify their identities by 18 November 2025. This date marked the start of a 12-month transition period during which existing directors must verify their identities by providing their personal code with the relevant companies' confirmation statement. This could only be done after the start of the transition period. The deadline for filing the confirmation statement determines the deadline for verification for existing directors. No significant decrease in the timeliness of confirmation statement filings has been observed.
Companies House continuously seeks feedback from its customers and is providing focussed support to those required to verify.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what allowance is made under the Companies House requirement for company directors to verify their identity online, or by starting the process on-line, for those who do not have access to the internet or the ability to apply in this way.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Companies House have invested in expansion and training of our customer service team to assist users in their identity verification journey. This includes establishing a specialist team to support customers who have accessibility requirements.
Users can ask someone they know to help them prove their identity: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/help-someone-use-govuk-one-login. Where identity cannot be verified online, users may be directed to complete the process in person at a participating Post Office. The invitation to initiate this journey can be issued via post.
Authorised Company Service Providers may also offer non-digital identity verification services.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are the ministerial responsibilities of each of the three Lords ministers for the Department for Business and Trade.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston
I have responsibility for Investment. My noble Friends, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Lord Offord of Garvel) is the Minister for Exports, and the Minister of State (The Earl of Minto) is the Minister for Regulatory Reform.
Further details of each Minister’s responsibilities can be found on the Department’s GOV.UK home page under ‘Our Ministers’: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-business-and-trade.