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  • Rachel Reeves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Rachel Reeves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to improve take-up of the Pension Wise guidance service.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Since launch, there have been over 2.4 million visits to the Pension Wise website and over 61,000 appointments, with the latest data showing a record number of appointments in March. To drive awareness of the service, Pension Wise has run three national marketing campaigns across TV, radio, print and digital media, the latest of which finished in April 2016.

    In addition, pension providers are required to signpost to Pension Wise when issuing retirement wake-up packs and Pension Wise guiders engage with local businesses and services to further raise awareness of the service.

    The Government recognises that people should have the freedom to access information in a way that is suitable to them.

  • Rachel Reeves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Rachel Reeves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government plans to take to help people who will access their pensions before the proposed new pension guidance service becomes available in April 2018.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The current Pension Wise service will continue to deliver guidance to people aged 50 years and over, with defined contribution pension pots, to help them understand their options under the pension freedoms.

    The new pensions guidance body will take forward the services currently provided by three organisations: Pension Wise, The Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS) and the pension services offered by Money Advise Service (MAS). Until then these organisations will continue to support people in understanding and accessing their pensions.

  • Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with the Crown dependencies on the Government’s plans to introduce a British Bill of Rights.

    Dominic Raab

    The government was elected with a mandate to reform the UK’s human rights framework. The Crown Dependencies are not part of the UK but are self-governing dependencies of the Crown. This means they have their own directly elected legislative assemblies, administrative, fiscal and legal systems and their own courts of law. Although the Bill of Rights will not apply to the Crown Dependencies we have undertaken to fully engage with them.

  • Glyn Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Glyn Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Glyn Davies on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Attorney General, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of introducing a new criminal offence of failure to prevent economic crime on the number of prosecutions for such crimes.

    Jeremy Wright

    Under existing law, a company only faces criminal liability if prosecutors can prove a sufficiently senior person knew about the criminal conduct. It can be extremely hard to prove this, especially in large companies with complex management structures.

    A new failure to prevent offence could help prosecutors hold all companies to account for criminal conduct and bring some positive changes in corporate culture.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Attorney General, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on the Government’s ability to prosecute criminals who have left the UK.

    Jeremy Wright

    The Government’s position is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.

    Through participation in the European Arrest Warrant, the UK is able to extradite foreign suspects and bring suspects back to the UK more quickly and economically. Since April 2011, it has enabled us to transfer around 5,500 suspects out of the UK and to bring back around 650 to face justice here.

  • Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Home Affairs on the number of pregnant women who have been detained for immigration purposes since central recording statistics on such cases began and the outcomes of their detention.

    Karen Bradley

    The detention of pregnant women under Immigration Act powers occurs only in very limited situations, either where there is a clear prospect of early removal or in very exceptional circumstances. Very few pregnant women are detained. Central recording of the number of detained women who have disclosed their pregnancy started in August 2015. Options for the collection of wider data on pregnant women is being considered as part of the Immigration Act 2016 implementation.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-05-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether it is his policy that the proposed public register of beneficial owners of companies will provide details of the names of (a) trust or company service providers and (b) other third parties which incorporate those companies.

    Anna Soubry

    Since 6th April this year, UK companies (with exception of listed companies), limited liability partnerships and societates europaeae have been required to hold a register of people with significant control (PSC register). The register records the ultimate owners and controllers of UK companies. It is designed to record individuals. However, where a company is owned by another company that is also required to hold a PSC register, or is subject to equivalent disclosure requirements, those companies should be recorded on the register.

    Where a company is owned and or controlled by a third party incorporation agent including Trust and Company Service Providers (TCSP) and they are also required to hold a PSC register or are subject to equivalent transparency requirements then they would be required to be registered on that company’s PSC register. If the third party incorporation agent is not required to hold its own PSC register then the UK company would be required to look further up the ownership chain to identify who owns and controls the TCSP. The ultimate owner would be recorded on the PSC register.

    Where a third party incorporation agent has incorporated a company on behalf of someone else and they do not own or control the company, then the register would not record the third party incorporation agent details. It would instead record who actually owns and controls that UK company.

    How the PSC register works is explained in detailed guidance that has been prepared by BIS with the help of a working group of businesses, lawyers and civil society organisations. The guidance can be found here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-the-people-with-significant-control-requirements-for-companies-and-limited-liability-partnerships.

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  • Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-05-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, for what reason Companies House publishes the month and year of birth of company directors.

    Anna Soubry

    The Government considers that the date of birth of company directors is an important identifier for those searching the public companies register as it allows searchers to distinguish between individuals with the same, or similar, names.

    Following feedback from company directors about the availability of their full date of birth on the public register, section 96 of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 requires the Registrar of Companies to suppress the “day” element of a director’s date of birth.

    This strikes an appropriate balance between ensuring that the information on the public register is of real practical use and reducing the risk that the information becomes a tool for abuse by exposing individuals to the risk of identity theft or fraud.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-05-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the Answer of 31 March 2016 to Question 31997, on employment: telephone services, if he will provide that data for financial years (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13 and (d) 2013-14.

    Nick Boles

    The table below shows the number of referrals (complaints) from the Pay and Work Rights Helpline (PWRH) to relevant enforcement authorities for the 2010/11 to 2013/14 financial years.

    Table 1: Referrals from the PWRH to each enforcement agencies, 2010/11 to 2013/14

    2010/11

    2011/12

    2012/13

    2013/14

    HMRC

    2,080

    2,440

    2,610

    3,690

    EAS

    490

    530

    600

    630

    HSE

    200

    250

    210

    250

    DEFRA

    280

    210

    200

    150

    GLA

    60

    70

    50

    50

    *The Pay and Work Rights Helpline opened in May 2009

    Notes

    1. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10.

    2. Calls can be referred to more than one agency so the sum does not amount to the total number of calls referred for the period.

    3. Calls referred to agencies include complaints, complex queries and calls where intelligence was passed to other agencies.

    4. Figures include referrals via all PWRH communication channels, including telephone calls, post and online complaints.

    5. These figures are based on final data submitted by BSS on closure at the end of March 2015. They may not reconcile with provisional data provided while the old helpline was operational.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-05-20.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish a list of the people who attended the Anti-Corruption Summit on 12 May 2016.

    Matthew Hancock

    A list of attendees at the Anti-Corruption Summit has now been published on gov.uk and laid in the library of the House.