§ Mr. MorganTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what checks Companies House carries out of its records before the awarding of government contracts and to the existence of an Inland Revenue interest in the affairs of those companies. [25669]
§ Mr. Jonathan EvansCompanies House carries out checks, relating to compliance with the Companies Act, when requested to do so by Government Departments.
Any Inland Revenue interest in a company would be confidential to the tax authorities, and such checks by my Department would be precluded on taxpayer privacy grounds.