Ministerial statement on directors' duties under the Companies Act 2006

On 26 June 2007, the DTI published

a statement by Margaret Hodge, Minister of State for Industry and the Regions, giving guidance on directors' duties under Part 10 of the Companies Act 2006. The bulk of the ministerial statement consists of selected (edited) extracts from Hansard which have been chosen to assist interpretation of the codified duties. The extracts cover the background to and effect of codification of directors' duties, statements on specific duties, the ability to indemnify directors and the application of directors' duties to shadow directors.

The statement also: (1) contains a box giving high-level guidance as to how directors should act to ensure compliance with their duties (page 2); (2) reiterates the government's view that the only major change from directors' duties under common law is to the procedure for dealing with conflicts of interest; and (3) notes that directors' duties are likely to continue evolving over time.

For more information on directors' duties, see PLC Practice note, Directors' duties: Companies Act 2006.