Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the collapse of Wilko in 2023, what action they have taken against directors and auditors of Wilko.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Insolvency Service received the administrators’ reports in November 2023. After reviewing the reports, the Insolvency Service concluded that there were either no grounds or insufficient grounds to commence a disqualification investigation.
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has not taken any enforcement action against the auditors, and responsibility for investigating the auditor's conduct in this case lies with the relevant professional body. The FRC continues to monitor developments given the public interest in this case.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many business liquidations remain incomplete (1) 5 years, (2) 10 years and (3) 15 years or more after their commencement; and how many have been investigated for undue delay.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of businesses subject to pre-pack administration survive longer than (1) 5 years, (2) 10 years, and (3) 15 years.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 18 June (HL8190), what assessment they have made of analysis published by Tax Policy Associates on 17 May suggesting that 900,000 UK registered companies have no UK resident directors.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
No specific assessment has been made in respect of the analysis in question. Relevant legislation does not impose UK residency requirements upon company directors.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government who receives the fines levied upon insolvency practitioners.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Fines levied against insolvency practitioners are a disciplinary measure applied and collected by one of the three Recognised Professional Bodies which, under the oversight of the Insolvency Service operating on behalf of the Secretary of State, are responsible for authorising and regulating insolvency practitioners.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what fines they have levied on P&O Ferries Limited and its directors for failure to file annual audited financial statement at Companies House within the statutory prescribed time for the accounts made up to (1) 31 December 2021, (2) 31 December 2022, and (3) 31 December 2023.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
P&O Ferries Limited has incurred the following penalties for delivering overdue accounts for the reporting years specified:
31 December 2021 | £1500 |
31 December 2022 | £3000 |
Accounts for the year ending 31 December 2023 will incur a £3000 penalty when they are delivered.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they sanction foreign resident directors of UK registered companies for violations of company law.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Companies Act 2006 applies equally to all UK registered companies and their officers regardless of where the directors are based.
Insolvency Service decisions to pursue an allegation of criminal misconduct by a foreign resident director of a UK registered company will assess the seriousness of the offence(s) alleged, whether there is a reasonable prospect of securing their return to the jurisdiction for any prosecution and the resources required.
Civil enforcement requires leave of the court to serve proceedings outside the jurisdiction.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many companies registered at Companies House do not have a UK resident director.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Companies House does not currently hold this statistic. Furthermore, as country of residency is a free-form text field there are issues with the data quality. However, the introduction of voluntary and mandatory identity verification will allow us to be able to analyse and determine the residency of company directors in the future.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 8 April (HL6146), what fines have been levied against companies that have not identified all persons of significant control; and how many have been prosecuted and convicted.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Both the company and the company director are prosecuted for offences relating to registration requirements for People with Significant Control under Part 21A of the Companies Act 2006.
The number of prosecutions under Part 21A of the Companies Act 2006 that have resulted in a conviction against a company, and the total value of fines levied as a result, for the period March 2018 to March 2025, are as follows:
| Number of companies convicted | Total Value of Fines (£) |
2018/19 | 61 | £19,150.00 |
2019/20 | 68 | £21,040.00 |
2020/21 | 23 | £14,420.00 |
2021/22 | 56 | £54,804.00 |
2022/23 | 52 | £25,648.00 |
2023/24 | 31 | £12,620.00 |
2024/25 | 13 | £10,840.00 |
Total | 304 | £158,522.00 |
The number of prosecutions under Part 21A of the Companies Act 2006 that have resulted in a conviction against a director and the total value of fines levied as a result, for the period March 2018 to March 2025, are as follows:
| Number of Directors Convicted | Total Value of Fines (£) |
2018/19 | 64 | £18,170.00 |
2019/20 | 94 | £31,302.00 |
2020/21 | 23 | £14,444.00 |
2021/22 | 58 | £56,174.00 |
2022/23 | 52 | £35,508.00 |
2023/24 | 32 | £11,813.00 |
2024/25 | 13 | £10,895.00 |
Total | 336 | £178,306.00 |
The data provided is from Insolvency Service management information and not from official statistics.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to publish the trade agreement between the UK and India; and whether they plan to seek Parliament’s approval prior to ratification.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
A summary document of the trade agreement between the UK and India is already on the Gov.uk website. This Government plans to publish the full agreement when the deal is signed, which will then be subject to the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010. The Act provides Parliament with the opportunity to scrutinise new trade agreements that are subject to ratification and, if it wishes, to resolve against them.
Additionally, any changes to UK legislation will need to be scrutinised and passed by Parliament in the usual way.