Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will use her discretionary powers to redirect a portion of the £783,827 recovered from Petr Aven to support survivors of the conflict in Ukraine.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The NCA secured a forfeiture of Petr Aven’s funds after breaches of sanctions regulations. The allocation of forfeited funds under POCA is governed by the Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme (ARIS), a discretionary funding model that allocates returned funds between central government and operational partners. In the spirit of the scheme, the Government encourages agencies to use ARIS funds to increase asset recovery and, where appropriate, fund local crime fighting priorities for the benefit of the community. Victims of crime can also apply for the release of seized funds to them.
In some circumstances, funds can be returned to a state at their request. The UK remains fully committed to working with allies to pursue all lawful routes through which Russian seized assets can be used to support the reconstruction of Ukraine.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the 1972 Communique on the Agreement between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on an Exchange of Ambassadors, whether the Communique’s position that Taiwan is a province of the People's Republic of China remains the position of the Government.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK's longstanding position on Taiwan, as set out in the 1972 Communique, has not changed and remains the position of this Government.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the implications for her policies of reports that Chinese companies have registered more than 30,000 companies at UK addresses where the registered owners have no connection to the business concerned.
Answered by Tulip Siddiq - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
DBT and Companies House are moving at pace to implement the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2024, a principal purpose of which is to strengthen the powers of the Registrar of Companies to bear down on the abuse of corporate structures in the UK. Enhanced intelligence sharing between public authorities is a key element in that.
HMRC is aware of the risk of overseas sellers misrepresenting their true establishment to an online marketplace so that the online marketplace will not charge VAT, and continues to keep the policy under review. Rules introduced in January 2021 make Online Marketplaces responsible for VAT on goods sold by overseas businesses on their platforms.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to place on a statutory footing the ability to redirect a portion of funds recovered from sanctions violations penalties to provide reparations for survivors of (a) human rights and (b) humanitarian law violations.
Answered by Tulip Siddiq - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) is responsible for issuing civil monetary penalties for breaches of financial sanctions. OFSI maintains a robust and effective toolkit for responding to breaches of financial sanctions, of which monetary penalties remain a key component. Monetary penalties are not always the most appropriate enforcement outcome. Many cases are resolved privately through warning letters, other advice to firms or referrals to regulators.
The money collected from monetary penalties is deposited into the Consolidated Fund, in line with the general principles applying to the treatment of fines or other penalties imposed by public bodies in central government. OFSI currently has no plans to change this system.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will use her discretionary powers to redirect a portion of the cash and cryptocurrency seized by the National Crime Agency in Operation Destabilise for the benefit of survivors of the war in Ukraine.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Operation Destabilise is an NCA-led operation, which has so far resulted in over £20 million in cash and cryptocurrency being seized. The allocation of recovered criminal funds under POCA is governed by the Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme (ARIS), a discretionary funding model that allocates returned funds between central government and operational partners.
In the spirit of the scheme, the Government encourages agencies to use ARIS funds to increase asset recovery and, where appropriate, fund local crime fighting priorities for the benefit of the community. Victims of crime can also apply for the release of seized funds to them.
In some circumstances, funds can be returned to a state at their request. The UK remains fully committed to working with allies to pursue all lawful routes through which Russian seized assets can be used to support Ukraine.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of a ban on gambling (a) sponsorship and (b) advertising in football.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
As the Minister for Gambling set out in her speech at the GambleAware conference on 4 December, we want to see the gambling industry further raise standards to ensure that levels of gambling advertising does not exacerbate harm. This work will be monitored closely.
There are a range of robust rules and restrictions which apply to gambling adverts, wherever they appear, to ensure they are socially responsible.
As part of the UK Advertising Codes, issued by the Committees for Advertising Practice (CAP) and Broadcast Committees of Advertising Practice (BCAP), sister organisations of the Advertising Standards Authority, content with ‘strong appeal’ to children such as top flight footballers or celebrities popular with children is prohibited from appearing in gambling adverts. As part of the Code of Conduct published by major sports governing bodies, including the Premier League and English Football League, gambling sponsorships must be designed to limit its reach and promotion to those under the age of 18, such as ensuring that no gambling sponsor logos or other promotional materials relating to gambling sponsorship appear on sections of their website which are designed to be viewed and used specifically by children. The Department will closely monitor the implementation of the Codes to ensure they have a meaningful impact. Premier League clubs have also agreed to remove front of shirt sponsorships by gambling firms by the end of the 2025/26 season.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has had discussions with the Metropolitan Police on the called-in application for the proposed new Chinese embassy in Tower Hamlets.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations are published on gov.uk as part of the government’s transparency agenda.
An independent Planning Inspector will hold a public inquiry at which interested parties will be able to put forward evidence and representations. These will be taken into account when a final decision is made.
Following the inquiry, the Inspector’s report and recommendation will be sent to MHCLG, and Planning Ministers will then reach a decision on whether to grant planning permission.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to tackle VAT fraud; and if she will bring forward legislative proposals to extend Deemed Reseller rules to UK-established businesses.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Tax fraud undermines our economy, hurts legitimate businesses and robs our vital public services of much-needed funds.
The government is clear in its commitment to closing the tax gap, and ensuring everyone pays the tax that is legally due.
HMRC uses a wide range of civil and criminal powers to tackle VAT fraud. Online Marketplace liability rules were introduced in 2021 specifically to tackle VAT fraud and non-compliance by overseas sellers. The OBR estimates this will raise £1.8 billion per annum by 2026/27. The government continues to keep this tax policy under review.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of Ipsos and the University of Bristol's report entitled Drivers of Gambling Marketing Restrictions – An International Comparison, published in November 2024.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to strengthening protections to ensure that people can reduce the risks that can ensue from harmful gambling. We are committed to reviewing the best available evidence on the impact of gambling advertising from a wide range of sources in order to ensure there are robust protections in place to protect those at risk. The department has noted the report from Ipsos and the University of Bristol on marketing restrictions in international jurisdictions.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to Huawei's press article entitled, Safe Mauritius, the Inspiration for Heaven, published in October 2018, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the security provisions within Mauritius’ telecommunications system; and if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of those provisions on the use of the telecommunications system by his Department's officials.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As previously referenced in the Answer to 10968, this is the subject of an ongoing police investigation in Mauritius, and we are unable to provide further comment. We continue to monitor the situation.