This White Paper builds closely on the work of the Company Law Review (CLR), and of the Government’s subsequent White Paper of 2002. The CLR itself conducted a series of public consultations before publishing its final report, and the Government has taken full account of that process, of responses to the White Paper, and of subsequent consultations, both formal and informal, in determining the policy measures now set out in this document. Draft clauses are included for a number of the areas.
Company law can be very complex, and there will be some interested parties (perhaps particularly smaller firms and their advisors) who will want to gain some understanding of the central measures proposed, but who may not wish to investigate the technical minutiae of how they will be delivered in legislation. Set out below, therefore, is a list of the key legislative changes. A separate small business summary has also been prepared, highlighting the measures likely to be of most interest to smaller firms and their advisors.