Register of Overseas Entities (Protection and Trusts) and Limited Liability Partnerships (Application of Company Law) (Amendment) Regulations 2026
House of Lords · Grand Committee · 30 Jun 2026 · 8 speeches · Official Report
Considered in Grand Committee
Moved by
That the Grand Committee do consider the Register of Overseas Entities (Protection and Trusts) and Limited Liability Partnerships (Application of Company Law) (Amendment) Regulations 2026. Relevant document: 5th Report from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments (s pecial attention drawn to the instrument )
My Lords, these regulations will make targeted and technical amendments to strengthen the operation and transparency of the register of overseas entities, which I will refer to as the ROE. They will also correct a technical issue relating to limited liability partnerships, which I will refer to as LLPs. The Government remain committed to improving the transparency of beneficial ownership as part of our efforts to tackle economic crime while ensuring that there are appropriate safeguards for sensitive personal information. Noble Lords will be aware that the ROE, established by the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022, is a key part of that framework. It is a public register requiring overseas entities that own or purchase land in the United Kingdom to disclose information about their beneficial owners or managing officers to Companies House. The register plays an important role in exposing ownership structures and supporting efforts to combat illicit activity. Information on the ROE has been used by law enforcement agencies, journalists and others investigating corruption, money laundering and assets held by sanctioned individuals. Last year, the Government increased public access to trust information on the ROE through the launch of the trust disclosure service on 31 August. The service allows members of the public to apply to Companies House for access to trust information held on the register. Applicants must provide their own details, together with the...
My Lords, I welcome the opportunity to speak to these regulations, which form part of the ongoing work to strengthen and refine the register of overseas entities, a register introduced by the Conservative Government to bring greater transparency to overseas ownership of UK land and to protect our economy from illicit finance. The instrument before us makes targeted and practical improvements to ensure that the register continues to operate effectively, balancing transparency with the proper protection of personal and sensitive information. These are measured and proportionate adjustments that respond to operational experience and ensure that the system remains robust, fair and fit for purpose. As the Minister has outlined, the purpose of the register is to increase transparency around the beneficial ownership of overseas entities that hold land in the United Kingdom and to strengthen the UK’s defence against illicit finance. The framework for the register, including the treatment of trust information, was designed to balance two important principles: first, transparency, to ensure that overseas ownership structures cannot be used to conceal criminal activity; and secondly, privacy and proportionality, particularly in relation to sensitive trust data and information involving minors. Since the register came into force, operational experience has highlighted several areas where the legislation could be improved to ensure that the system functions as intended. These include:...
My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Ashcombe, for the first time, I think. I welcome him to the wonderful world of economic crime. We are history-makers today, in that this is the first 11 am Tuesday session. It is a welcome change to the way in which we do business, making constructive use of the time we have. I look forward to lots of 11 am sessions going forward. As both noble Lords have said, tackling economic crime and financial security are vital for the economy. I was one of the people who worked on the two economic crime Bills brought forward by the previous Administration. There was a collective effort by all parties in the House to try to deal with some of the most pernicious elements of the economic crime going on in our country. As the Minister said, the register of overseas entities is an important step in improving beneficial ownership transparency, and we welcome any measures that make it work better in practice. As both speakers said, there are three elements to this statutory instrument. The first is to make trust information held on the register of overseas entities easier to access by removing the requirement to provide a trust name, as the Minister said, and allowing disclosure of non-minor information, even when a trust includes children. There was quite a lot of debate on this during the passage of the Bill, and this measure gets the balance right, I think, based on my rather sketchy memory of that debate. The second element seeks...
My Lords, I welcome the noble Lord, Lord Ashcombe, to his new role and congratulate him on it, and I thank both noble Lords for the points raised during this very short debate. I start by saying that the UK’s approach to the ROE is way ahead of international standards in this area. The Government are continuing efforts to enhance transparency and support greater scrutiny of trusts’ information, where appropriate and proportionate, monitoring the impact of reforms and engaging with stakeholders to ensure that the register remains effective. Part of that effort is the asset ownership review, led by my noble friend Lady Hodge, announced in the Government’s anti-corruption strategy. This will, among other things, consider the approach to trust transparency across government. I just touch on a point mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord Fox. I have been told that the technology and systems in Companies House are holding back the required updating of information, but I have been informed that work to improve them is ongoing at pace, and a requirement for both LLPs and companies will, hopefully, be commenced very soon once that is completed. I do not have details at hand on when that will be completed, but I will get officials to find out from Companies House when it will be done. The noble Lord made the point that a regular review and update from Companies House is well overdue. I will ensure that my officials reach out to Companies House to perhaps organise a drop-in session with...
Motion agreed.