Persons with Significant control

All PSC schemas are DRAFT as regulations are subject to change

The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act will introduce a new role to all UK companies, Limited Liability Partnerships, CIC’s and SE companies, called Persons with Significant Control (PSC).
It is a complicated piece of legislation and we appreciate as developers this will be difficult to develop the required forms, so please ask questions and we will try and help as much as we can. Below is a brief laymans view of PSCs and the new filings required by Companies House. The public guidance is not available until around December 2015 but the department of Business, Innovation and Skills do have a consultation paper which will hopefully help your understanding further.

There are 3 types of PSC’s

  • An individual/person
  • A Relevant Legal Entity (corporate body or firm)
  • A legal person (corporate sole, government body, e.g. Archbishop of Canterbury or Prime minister

Each of these have their own notification form, PSC01, PSC02 & PSC03, these are very similar to the equivalent officer forms but include a new section; Nature of Control. These are reasons as to why someone has significant control over a company, these include; ownership of shares, voting rights, the right to appoint or remove directors and has significant control or influence.

You can also change and resign PSCs, again very similar to officers.

PSC04 - Change of details for PSC (person)
PSC05 - Change of details for Relevant Legal Entity
PSC06 - Change of details for an other registrable person (or legal person)
PSC07 - Cease to be a PSC (this used by all 3 types of PSC)

Companies that are required to supply PSC details, must supply PSC details and/or statements. The statements are reasons as to why you are unable to supply PSC details, for example the company doesnt have a PSC or is waiting for the PSC to confirm their details.

PSC08 - Notification of a PSC statement
PSC09 - Notification of end dating a statement

When a statement no longer applies, for example the company has the PSC’s details and complete a notification form, the company must submit a PSC09 to end date that statement.
Current draft schemas - these are only in alpha stage as the law is still changing.

Hello,
Can you let me know if the PSC data will need to be supplied during the incorporation process or if it is limited to the annual confirmation statement (old annual return)?

If there are changes to the PSC does this need to be communicated when this happens or can it be limited to the annual confirmation statement?

Thanks

Hi
You will need to supply PSC data on an Incorporation, as well as confirmation statement. These schemas are currently being worked on and we will release them as soon as possible. The PSC elements of those schemas will be using the notification schemas that have already been released as draft.
If a company elects to hold its PSC register at Companies House then you are required to keep the PSC register up to date with any PSC changes (event driven), otherwise you provide updates as part of your annual confirmation statement.
Hope this answers your queries.
Thanks
Charlotte

Thank you.

I realise I am asking questions about a schema thats still being worked on but will the PSC data be an additional record that sits alongside directors and shareholders or will it be a flag against the existing records?

I presume a person of significant control is relative in terms of percentages, the schema that has been released has percent ranges the lowest seeming to be 25%, If no shareholders have a 25% holding I presume they still need to be supplied.
For example if there are 10 shareholders with an equal split of the same type of shares they would all be supplied as PSC?

Thanks

Hi
PSCs will be a different data set as they may well be not listed against the company in any form (director or shareholder), but for the man on the street type of company we appreciate that the PSC is probably the sole director and shareholder. The data required is very similar to that of an officer, except for nature of control (NOC). There a 4 categories which define someones NOC, percentage of shares is one of them. If someone has less than 25% of shares and doesn’t met any other criteria, they are not a PSC. If there are 10 shareholders all with 10% of shares, and no one meets the criteria for being a PSC, the company would need to file a Notification of additional matters (PSC08) to indicate they dont have a PSC.

Hope that helps
Thanks
Charlotte

What the the 4 NOC categories?
I apologise if I have missed them somewhere.

Do the PSCxx forms exist anywhere, I have been unable to locate them.

Thanks

Sorry if you have not had the link to all the PSC schemas:
http://xmlalpha.companieshouse.gov.uk/v1-0/xmlgw/SchemaStatus

Sorry, I meant the paper equivalents of the forms. Do PDF’s exist as they will be a little easier to understand?

With regards to the 4 categories I am having trouble locating the relevant section of the schema, can you point me in the right direction?

HI
The NOC is in the PSC Base Types: http://xmlalpha.companieshouse.gov.uk/v1-0/schema/PSCBaseTypes-v1-0-alpha1.xsd

Sorry we are not able to release the paper draft forms but what you can have a look at is the web DRAFT screens, I would welcome your feedback.

https://webfilingbeta.companieshouse.gov.uk//seclogin?tc=1
Login details:
username: demo10@companieshouse.gov.uk
pwd: 10101010
company num: 03950344
authcode: 222222

Thank you, the PSC01 form was really helpfull.
The process is really smooth except for the address, it doesn’t explain why I can’t use the existing company address for both address fields.

I don’t suppose the annual return has been updated yet to accommodate/replace the PSC data?

Great, I am glad that helped.
When you try to link both addresses you get an error, as the law restricts PSCS and directors from having both addresses the same as the company address. The directors/PSC’s home address should be an actual home address, which is not disclosed to the public. You can manually enter an address, you just can’t link both addresses.
Sorry the annual return is still being worked on.

On the page that lists the PSC schemas, I see reference to http://xmlgw.companieshouse.gov.uk/v1-0/schema/forms/PSCNotification-v1-0-alpha2.xsd having been released on 21 January. But when I click the link the page isn’t there. It’s a dead link. Is this version of the PSC Notification schema available?

HI
Sorry you are having problems, the notification schema is available on that link but the PSCBaseTypes has the wrong URL, apologies we will sort this out in the next hour.
thanks

Charlotte

I know the draft schemas are subject to change, but I don’t understand how a company being incorporated can be subject to DTR5.

Sorry are you saying the CompanyIncorporation schema has a DTR5 element, only I cant see one?
thanks

No schema element, but in the draft paper INC01 it says if DTR5 applies there is no need to include PSC data. It may be draft but I don’t know how a company can be DTR5 at incorporation. Surely a plc cannot be trading on the stock market before it’s even registered?

Sorry could you send me a copy of the draft paper INC as that has not been released from Companies House, as you are correct it should not be referencing DTR5.
thanks

I was made aware that it is only a draft (very rough draft at that). Thankyou for agreeing that DTR5 should not be mentioned in the final version

I would use the incorporation XML schema for the latest position

Within PSCComapanyIdentification element on the Company Incorporation Schema there is an optional element called CountryOrState could you expand on the use of this field.

Up to this point all corporate appointments have been defined using PlaceRegistered or LawGoverned within the CompanyIdentifcation type. I would like clarification when this would need to be filed and what the difference is to PlaceRegistered.