Companies House GDS Saga continues

 You really couldn't make this up!

Companies House "system" to check the on-line identity of  Directors and persons of significant control relies on Gov.uk to perform that validation.  When you attempt to use this system you end up with web pages marked as "Beta" version. In the systems development world Beta version software is that which you think mostly works, but you might find bugs where we haven't tested/fixed fully.  It is not production quality software.

When you send an email to the GDS (GOV.UK) support team you get a response within a day, but it says you may have to wait up to 15 days* to get a response from them! 15 Days when all they'll say is "try again".  It sounds like an IT system in serious trouble.  

The Minister responsible for the GOV.UK should get his sleeves rolled up and get things fixed.  The UK Government Minister responsible for GOV.UK is the Minister for the Cabinet Office, as GOV.UK is managed by the Government Digital Service (GDS), which sits within the Cabinet Office. The current Minister for the Cabinet Office, as of the latest available information, is Pat McFadden MP (Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster).

For Companies House the ultimate responsible Minister is the current Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Business, Energy and Corporate Responsibility) at the Department for Business and Trade, with responsibility for Companies House, is Justin Madders. He was appointed to this role on 9 July 2024.

31st July 2025 Edit:

After the Companies House "Escalations" Team refused to escalate the case, we've submited a detailed complaint dossier (35 Pages) to the Chief Executive (Ms Smyth) at Companies House  with the request to pass it on to their independent adjudicators.  We've emphasised that this problem may affect many company directors when the process becomes mandatory in Sept 2025.

We're compiling a similar dossier for the responses from GDS. 

*Edit: 6th Aug 2025

The projected 15 days wait, turned out to be 57 days wait for a response. The usual unhelpful nonsense:

• We are unable to tell you why your validation failed;
• Our system doesn't always work, go and pay an Account/Solicitor to validate your Identity.

We sent a response rejecting their tardy reply. Reminding them of the tsunami of potential complaints when other directors try to use their system. We've asked them to furnish  us with details of their complaints process.

Could it be that GDS are using AI to decide the validity of passport details, selfie scans?  It would explain why they are unable to explain why my application was rejected without giving a reason. Parhaps this is why they are reticent in responding to my Subject Access Request.