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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 2 November to Question 65437, on Morrisons: Takeovers, whether the Government has plans to require the largest private companies to meet higher standards of transparency and oversight.

On 18 March, the Government published a White Paper, ‘Restoring trust in audit and corporate reporting’, setting out comprehensive and ambitious plans to strengthen the UK’s audit, company reporting and corporate governance framework. It included proposals to bring large private businesses in scope of higher standards of transparency and oversight.

Consultation on the proposals closed on 8 July. The Government is considering the responses carefully and will respond in due course.