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Partner organisations

BIS is supported by a wide range of partner organisations in delivering its strategic priorities. Our partners provide services, information and advice to the Department and directly to a wide range of people and organisations. We have nine executive agencies: Companies House, The Insolvency Service, the Intellectual Property Office, the Land Registry, the Met Office, the National Measurement Office, Ordnance Survey the Skills Funding Agency and the UK Space Agency. Read about how we make public appointments. See also the BIS Public Bodies Directory 2010


Fair markets

  • Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS)

    ACAS delivers a high quality employment relations service to businesses and individuals, employees to solve problems and improve performance. It is required by statute to offer conciliation to employment tribunal claimants and respondents, and offers information, independent advice and training.

  • Central Arbitration Committee (CAC)

    CAC is an independent body adjudicating on applications relating to the recognition and de recognition of trade unions.

  • Certification Office

    The Certification Officer is responsible for maintaining a list of trade unions and employers' associations, ensuring their compliance with statutory requirements, retaining annual returns, determining complaints and rule breaches, overseeing their finances, and certifying their independence.

  • Citizens Advice

    Citizens Advice is the national umbrella body for the Citizens Advice Service in England, Wales and N Ireland (with a separate organisation for Scotland). It supports, develops and leads the service by setting, maintaining and monitoring standards, training staff and volunteers, developing services, and advising on social policy trends following analysis of case reports from the bureaux.

  • Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS)

    A national umbrella body that provides essential services to Scottish citizens advice bureaux.

  • Community Interest Companies (CIC)

    The CIC Regulator is an independent public office holder, who acts as a light touch Regulator to Community Interest Companies and maintains public confidence in the CIC brand.

  • Companies House

    Companies House has two main functions: to incorporate and dissolve companies and register the information they have to make public in exchange for the benefits of limited liability, and to make information filed by companies available to searchers, who may take information as end users or as middle-men in the business information industry.

  • Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT)

    The CAT is a specialist judicial body with cross-disciplinary expertise in law, economics, business and accountancy. Under UK law, the function of the CAT is to hear and decide appeals and other applications or claims involving competition or economic regulatory issues.

  • Competition Commission

    The Commission conducts in-depth inquiries into mergers, markets & the regulation of the major regulated industries, in response to references from another authority. It is independent of Ministers apart from a small number of cases in defence, national security & the media.

  • Consumer Focus

    Consumer Focus champions the needs of consumers, across markets, including the energy and postal services sectors, with a particular regard to the vulnerable, including those who have been or are about to be disconnected.

  • Financial Reporting Council (FRC)

    The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is the UK's independent regulator for corporate reporting and governance. Its aim is to promote well-founded confidence in corporate reporting and governance in the UK.

  • Insolvency Practitioners Tribunal

    The IPT deals with cases referred by the Secretary of State at the request of individuals in respect of a refusal to grant or intention to withdraw authorisation to act as an insolvency practitioner under the Insolvency Act 1986.

  • Insolvency Service

    The INSS administers the insolvency regime in England and Wales, including individual and corporate insolvencies, director disqualifications and bankruptcy restrictions, regulating the insolvency profession, paying statutory redundancy to employees of insolvent companies, conducting investigations in the public interest, providing practical information on insolvency procedures and managing director disqualifications and redundancy payments in Scotland.

  • Low Pay Commission (LPC)

    The LPC advises Government about the National Minimum Wage and makes recommendations including rate recommendations, taking into account the impact on the economy. It has a long-term research programme including fact-finding visits to all parts of the country.

  • UK Trade and Investment (UKTI)

    UKTI is a non-ministerial Government Department. We work closely with both the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

  • Union Modernisation Fund Supervisory Board (UMF)

    The UMF provided financial assistance to independent trade unions and their federations in support of innovative modernisation projects which contributed to transformational change in the organisational effectiveness of unions.

    The Board was abolished in July 2010.  No further rounds will be held of the Union Modernisation Fund so the work of the Board is complete.


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