Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to create a publicly accessible register of the beneficial owners of overseas companies that own or buy UK property.

The Government remains committed to establishing a new beneficial ownership register of overseas entities that own UK property in order to combat money laundering and achieve greater transparency in the UK property market. The Government is mindful that the register is a novel scheme and it is important to get it right. The register requires primary legislation to be established, and the Government will legislate when Parliamentary time allows.