On 14 November 2007 the Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform (BERR) published a consultation paper on the application of the Companies Act 2006 (the 2006 Act) to Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs). This follows a consultation in February 2007 on the broad approach that should be taken to applying the 2006 Act to LLPs (see PLC Legal update, Companies Act 2006: DTI consultation on implementation ). BERR is now consulting on:

- Simplifying the LLP Regulations 2001 (SI 2001/1090).

- Applying the provisions of the 2006 Act where the corresponding provisions in the Companies Act 1985 apply to LLPs.

- Applying new provisions of the 2006 Act where this follows the existing approach of applying companies legislation that concerns LLPs' relations with third parties.

- New provisions of the 2006 Act that the government does not propose to apply to LLPs as they relate to the internal management arrangements of companies.

Most of the changes proposed for LLPs will be implemented in October 2009. This follows BERR's announcement that much of the 2006 Act that was due to come into force in October 2008 is being put back until October 2009. However BERR still intends that Parts 15 (accounts) and 16 (audit) of the 2006 Act should be applied to LLPs in October 2008 as well as the Companies (Cross-Border Mergers) Regulations 2007. If there is support for the electronic communications provisions to be applied to LLPs, BERR would also propose to do this from October 2008.

The consultation closes on 6 February 2008. PLC Corporate will report on the consultation in more detail shortly.