Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has considered the potential merits of creating a national mail order fraud database for (a) retailers, (b) delivery companies, (c) customers and (d) other relevant parties to log delivery issues.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade has not made an assessment on creating a national mail order fraud database. Led by the Home Office, the Government will be setting out its approach to tackling all types of fraud in its upcoming Fraud Strategy.
Report Fraud is the new national reporting service for fraud and for cyber crime operated by City of London Police. They also take information reports on attempted frauds. Reports submitted to Report Fraud are considered by the service’s National Crime Analysis Service and evaluated to assess the information available which could assist an investigation.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of mandatory digital filing requirements on Community Interest Companies (CICs); and what steps he is taking to support CICs to (a) file annual accounts in iXBRL format using compliant software and (b) comply with director identity verification.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
CICs file accounts to Companies House in the same way as other companies. The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 Impact Assessment assesses impacts of removing paper accounts filing. We are reviewing our proposed changes in filing requirements at Companies House, to ensure they strike the right balance between tackling economic crime and avoiding undue burden on business.
Identity verification is designed to be straightforward. Individuals can verify digitally through One Login, via an Authorised Corporate Service Provider, or in-person at the Post Office. Companies House contact centre is available for users requiring assistance.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of licensing building companies.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Grenfell Inquiry recommended that principal contractors wanting to work on higher-risk buildings should need a licence, which would be managed by the construction regulator. It also recommended that when applying for building control approval for these buildings, the principal contractor should include a personal undertaking from a company director or senior manager. We accept this and will work on creating a licensing system that works for the industry and the public.
We support stronger accountability and competence of principal contractors and are considering how to achieve this without creating unnecessary layers of regulation and barriers to the supply of new homes.