1.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 1.2 The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has written to the Committee on this matter alongside this Treasury Minute. 1.3 BEIS (the department) recognises that sharing information on companies across government and between public bodies can bring benefits for policymaking, service delivery, and efforts to mitigate financial crime. The department already plays an active role in facilitating this practice across government in a sensible and proportionate way, where permitted by law and with regard for the appropriate balance of sensitivities and interests. 1.4 BEIS has raised the importance of this across other departments that are responsible for coordinating business information and will work closely with Cabinet Office and HM Treasury to develop existing processes where necessary, bearing in mind commercial and legal restrictions. 1.5 The department also works closely with its arms-length bodies, including Companies House and the Insolvency Service, on appropriate data sharing, for example in response to fraud in the Bounce Back Loan Scheme. 1.6 The department keeps its internal processes under regular review.