Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which Minister in his Department has responsibility for tacking corruption.
Answered by Margot James
I am the Minister for Small Business, Consumers and Corporate Responsibility and I lead on competition law. I have a particular focus on ensuring that companies including directors, shareholders and employees achieve high standards of corporate behaviour to ensure that the public has trust in business and recognises their value to society.
I have specific responsibility for the UK’s register of People with Significant Control. I lead on the Department’s interests in transposing the Fourth Anti Money Laundering Directive. I am also the lead Minister for the Department on taking forward the UK’s commitments agreed at the May anticorruption summit in London.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many of the annual returns or confirmation statements submitted to Companies House since 1 July 2016 did not contain information on the relevant company's persons of significant control.
Answered by Margot James
There should be no confirmation statements on the public register that do not contain any information on the relevant company’s persons of significant control (PSC). Any confirmation statement submitted to Companies House without any information about PSCs will be rejected.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when the Government plans to conclude and publish its consultation on establishing public central registers of beneficial ownership of UK properties owned by foreign companies.
Answered by Margot James
The Department is currently developing the policy detail to be included within the consultation, which we intend to publish later this year.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has responsibility for the public register of beneficial ownership of UK companies.
Answered by Margot James
The register of people with significant control will be held at Companies House, which is an agency of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how the public register of beneficial ownership of UK companies can be accessed.
Answered by Margot James
Companies House’s register of the information provided by UK companies on their People with Significant Control (PSCs) is public and freely accessible, and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/companies-house .
Since 30 June, companies have been required to provide information on their PSCs to Companies House as the Confirmation Statement (formerly the annual return) becomes due. The register will therefore build up over time and be complete from 29 June 2017.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whom he has appointed as his special advisers.
Answered by Margot James
A list of Special Advisers in Government will be published in due course.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many UK companies have reported information on people with significant control to Companies House since 30 June 2016.
Answered by Margot James
As at 13.50 on 20 July 2016, there were 96,857 companies on the live register (excluding dissolved companies) that had reported information on people with significant control to Companies House since 30 June 2016.
The information provided forms part of Companies House Management Information and has not undergone any formal audit. This information has been extracted from the live database, which is being continually updated and it is subject to change. The number above is therefore a snapshot of the register.
Since 30 June, companies have been required to provide information on their PSCs to Companies House on incorporation or as their Confirmation Statement (formerly the annual return) becomes due. The register will therefore build up over time and be complete from 29 June 2017.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 3 June 2016 to Question 37744, on property: ownership, on what date (a) his Department will begin to consult on the detail of the policy and (b) that consultation will end.
Answered by Anna Soubry
My Department is currently developing the policy detail to be included within the consultation, which we plan to publish later this year. I am not able to commit to a specific date for the consultation at this point.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether he has met Mark Samworth, owner of the food manufacturing company Samworths, in the last six months.
Answered by Anna Soubry
Details of Ministerial meetings are published quarterly alongside gifts, hospitality and travel on the GOV.UK website.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, on what date in June 2016 the UK's public central register of company beneficial ownership will be launched.
Answered by Anna Soubry
UK companies have been required to keep a record of their people with significant control since the 6th of April and will be required to report this information to Companies House from 30th June.