HL Deb 23 March 1989 vol 505 cc885-6WA
Lord Beloff

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What targets have been set for the Companies House Agency.

Lord Young of Graffham

Companies House's creation as an Executive Agency on 3rd October last year built on the very considerable progress that has been made in the organisation in recent years. The activities of Companies House in making available information about companies promote enterprise and contribute substantially to open and informed markets. Its first months as an agency confirm that this new status will enable Companies House to provide a still better service to its many customers, and to increase its efficiency.

I have today set the chief executive the following targets for improvements in the quality of service and financial performance over the next two years:

10 per cent. reduction in the proportion of companies which have not filed all the accounts and annual returns required by the Companies Act, so that by June 1991 the compliance rate will be increased to 83 per cent.;

20 per cent. reduction in the time taken to process documents, so that by April 1991 documents are on average available to the public within 18 working days of being delivered to Companies House;

12 per cent. increase in output per member of staff;

7 per cent. decrease in unit costs in real terms.

In addition, I have emphasised to the chief executive the need to provide a standard of service over the whole range of Companies House's operations which meets the needs of his customers. As well as maintaining his efforts to improve the quality of existing services, I expect the chief executive shortly to announce new services in response to customer demands to enhance the accessibility of the information he holds.

I am also glad to announce that there will be no increase in the level of statutory fees for Companies House's services in the 1989–90 financial year.