Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of a unified system for accounts data between HMRC and Companies House.

HMRC are already joined up with Companies House in several areas relating to accounts data, including company registrations, small company accounts filings, and the automatic ingestion of bulk accounts data.

“File once with Government” proposal has been publicly consulted upon, with responses reported in the recently issued BEIS White Paper on “Corporate Transparency and Register Reform”, issued on 28 February 2022. The White Paper can be found at this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/corporate-transparency-and-register-reform .

The “File once with Government” concept would enable companies to file their financial information with the Government once, instead of filing elements of information separately with each department that requires it. The concept generated significant public support.

The White Paper noted the potential benefits of unified data and systems, including increased efficiency and effectiveness of Government agencies in their ability to regulate, monitor and prevent fraudulent activity, making more effective use of public money.

Some of the other proposals included in the White Paper, such as fully iXBRL-tagged digital accounts, would help to lay the foundations for “Filing once with Government”. However, technological and legislative challenges still remain.

Whilst there are no firm plans at this time, the Government is currently exploring the “File once with Government” proposals, and will continue to explore this within the current “Corporate Transparency and Register Reform” project.