Northern minister promises less red tape

Planned legislation will cut down on red tape for businesses in the North, it was announced today.

The Company Law Reform Bill will consolidate Britain’s position as one of the best places in the world to set up and run a business, say government ministers.

The bill will make major changes to company law and see it move onto a UK-wide footing with the creation of a UK company entity to replace those currently separate for Northern Ireland and the rest of Britain.

Welcoming the North’s inclusion, Enterprise Minister Angela Smith said: “This is a very important piece of legislation that will allow Northern Ireland business, for the first time, to benefit from de-regulatory and improved measures at the same time as companies in GB.”

The minister added: “The Company Law Reform Bill will make setting up and running a business much simpler. It will also make company law a lot easier to understand and more flexible, especially for smaller businesses.”

It was vitally important in the promotion of the North as an attractive place in which to do business that a modern legal foundation was laid that would actively encourage entrepreneurship and a long-term investment culture, said Ms Smith.

The bill is designed to reduce red tape and will promote shareholder engagement and provide clarity by restructuring those parts of company law most relevant to small businesses.

It will also set out simpler rules for forming a business and new model articles of association.

Business benefits include:

:: greater clarity on directors duties.

:: greater use of e-communications and removing the need for hard copy share certificates.

:: an option for all directors to file a service address on the public record.

:: a comprehensive package of measures to introduce auditor liability and improve audit quality.

:: implementing EU directives on take-overs and audit.

:: paving the way for the Financial Reporting Council to undertake regulation of the actuarial profession.

Ms Smith said company law would remain a devolved matter and as such the Assembly could, if it wished, legislate in the future to reflect local circumstances.