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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, 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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  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what criteria the Government considers before making an application to the European Globalisation Fund.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The UK has not made any applications to the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF).

    The European Globalisation Fund (EGF) provides a financial contribution for active labour market measures, aimed at reintegrating those made or at risk of being made redundant in the labour market. EGF Regulations state that these measures must complement actions at national, regional and local level.

    The EGF Regulations also set out strict criteria and eligibility for potential applicants with regards to the number of redundancies that take place over a given period of time and the link between these redundancies and globalisation or the global financial and economic crisis.

    The UK already offers a broad range of personalised support to workers made redundant through its Rapid Response Service and Jobcentre Plus, which could therefore not be duplicated or substituted by EGF.

    The Rapid Response Service and the Jobcentre Plus Core Offer are effective reintegration tools which represent good value for money and are our primary and most effective means of response to support the industry.

    In addition to this, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills also announced packages of support worth up to £80 million for SSI in Redcar.

    It has, therefore, not been necessary to make an application for EGF funding to provide complementary support.

  • Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons the Government did not apply to the European Globalisation Fund to secure financial support for those affected by the closure of SSI Redcar in 2015.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The UK has not made any applications to the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF).

    The European Globalisation Fund (EGF) provides a financial contribution for active labour market measures, aimed at reintegrating those made or at risk of being made redundant in the labour market. EGF Regulations state that these measures must complement actions at national, regional and local level.

    The EGF Regulations also set out strict criteria and eligibility for potential applicants with regards to the number of redundancies that take place over a given period of time and the link between these redundancies and globalisation or the global financial and economic crisis.

    The UK already offers a broad range of personalised support to workers made redundant through its Rapid Response Service and Jobcentre Plus, which could therefore not be duplicated or substituted by EGF.

    The Rapid Response Service and the Jobcentre Plus Core Offer are effective reintegration tools which represent good value for money and are our primary and most effective means of response to support the industry.

    In addition to this, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills also announced packages of support worth up to £80 million for SSI in Redcar.

    It has, therefore, not been necessary to make an application for EGF funding to provide complementary support.