May 21 - Companies House Contract Renewed
The Government has announced the signing on the 25th of April of the extension of the contract of Companies House. The Chief Secretary, Ernest Gomez, signed the agreement at No 6 Convent Place in the presence of the Chief Minister and Michael Llamas QC (Chief Legal Adviser) with David Faria and Bruno Goutaland de Greysier on behalf of Companies House Gibraltar.
Companies House has been running the Companies Registry since 1993. According to the Government, it has provided a “fast and reliable service for the last twenty years” which has contributed to the progress that the Finance Centre. The Government and Companies House said that they nonetheless both recognise that there is always “room for improvement and technological advancement.”
The main innovation in the contract is that the digital version of the data held by Companies House is now owned by the Government and not Companies House.
In order to comply with recent European Directives, Companies House needs to carry out comprehensive changes to its computer operating system, which will involve introducing new hardware, software and the retraining of its staff. Companies House has now recruited extra staff to deal with E-Filing and contracted with software suppliers to develop the platform for E-filing and the interconnectivity of Registers.
This is in keeping with the Government’s own e-agenda. As part of its e-agenda, which may be viewed on the Companies House website at: www.companieshouse.gi, Companies House has already introduced a considerable number of improvements. To date a total of 314,297 documents have been scanned and are available for consultation on the E-Registry on line.
These improvements will, the Government says, “radically change the way Companies House operates and permit users of the Registry to file and consult documents electronically.”
These changes also form part of the Government e-governance strategy. The Gibraltar Government have said that they will periodically review the service provided by Companies House and consult with the industry, including the Bar Council and ATCOM, on customer satisfaction to ensure the service is in keeping with the standards required by a successful and efficient financial services industry.
