In Parliament, Richard chairs the All Party Group on Corporate Governance. This Group brings Parliamentarians together to discuss the level of disclosure required of our listed (and unlisted) companies and broader issues about how the boards of our companies operate.
Richard Fuller MP said:
The way in which boards operate has been in the news recently with the revelations about “debanking” of individuals and organisations based on conflicts with policies on “diversity, equity and inclusion” that company boards have adopted.
The Minister for Business recently wrote to me about a draft statutory instrument (SI) under the Companies Act 2006 that will, if approved by Parliament, introduce new corporate reporting requirements in another area: corporate risk.
I am sure the intentions of this new set of statutory requirements aim to be helpful but I will look at the details before the measure is debated in Parliament. Overall the UK has become increasingly burdensome on corporate reporting requirements, director duties and other disclosures. Each incrementally might be seen as progressive but I am concerned that the compounding effect risks frightening away new international listings from the UK and potentially encouraging existing UK companies to look overseas for more amenable regulatory environments.
The letter from the Minister is attached below or can be read here.