At a recent meeting held with Louise Smyth, the Registrar of Companies, the question of whether the Companies House London office would ever re-open was broached. Louise stated that no decisions had been taken but that there were no plans to re-open the office. After discussing the effects of the Companies House office closure on a number of our clients, she asked if users would be prepared to set out in writing the precise problems caused by the closure of the London office (and all such counter services). Ms Smyth felt that business could be done just as efficiently, if not at an improved level, electronically. However, she said that she was willing to listen to any arguments to the contrary, provided they could be set out in detail. She asked that, when setting out the problems we perceived, we should attach priorities to those services most valued by members – for example, company formation or winding up searches.
We also asked Louise about re-introducing the same-day service for obtaining certified copies of documents. She again stated there were no immediate plans to re-introduce this service. As a result of this uncertain response, we are meeting with Louise again next week, where we’ll broach this subject again to try to gain a more concrete response regarding their intention and a timescale, which will better aid our company secretarial services.
Should anyone wish to provide any feedback to the Registrar regarding her comments above, I’d be happy to compile and send them to her, so please feel free to contact us today.
