Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she is taking steps to enhance due diligence procedures for individuals establishing limited companies.

Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

The Government is taking action to enhance checks conducted on individuals establishing limited companies. The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023 and the majority of new powers will come into force in March 2024. Companies House will have enhanced abilities to protect the integrity of the register. This will include powers to query suspected fraudulent incorporations and require further evidence. During 2025, compulsory identity verification checks will be implemented for directors (and equivalents), persons with significant control and those filing information with Companies House before they can transact with the Registrar.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department plans to implement financial safeguards to prevent individuals who have previously mismanaged businesses from establishing limited companies.

Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

The Insolvency Service takes robust enforcement action against directors where there is evidence of unfit conduct and will bring disqualification proceedings where in the public interest.

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 will further strengthen these safeguards. Individuals who are disqualified under director disqualification legislation will be prohibited from being appointed as a director and their existing directorships will become void. The Act also extends the grounds for making a director disqualification order so that individuals who persistently breach new identity verification or filing requirements may face disqualification.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of helping people travelling from Blackpool to the court complex in Preston.

Answered by Mike Freer

HMCTS has put in place temporary arrangements for hearings to take place at Preston and other locations in Lancashire, until the new state-of-the-art courthouse in Blackpool opens in 2026.

These arrangements will enable us to continue to offer effective access to justice, with the overwhelming majority of users being able to travel to Preston and other locations in Lancashire in accordance with our established definition of a reasonable journey. This includes being able to leave at 07:30 to attend court on time, using public transport if necessary.

Should court users anticipate difficulty in travelling to a site within these parameters they are advised to contact their legal representatives or the court at the earliest opportunity, so that the need for alternative arrangements can be considered. This will be assessed on a case-by-case basis and can include varying the start or end times of hearings, subject to judicial approval.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she is taking to increase trade with Saudi Arabia.

Answered by Nusrat Ghani

The Government is currently negotiating an ambitious UK-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to boost trade with the region by cutting tariffs and removing red tape. The ongoing FTA negotiations with the GCC show our commitment to move towards a strengthened and more formalised trade relationship with Saudi Arabia.

Bilaterally, the UK and Saudi Arabia engage together as part of the Strategic Partnership Council to underpin bilateral relations, bolster mutually beneficial trade and investment, and develop partnerships between UK and Saudi giga-projects. I also recently travelled to Saudi Arabia to represent the UK at the Future Minerals Forum, one of the world’s largest critical mineral events.

The Government is also supporting British businesses operating in Saudi Arabia through our extensive market access work, which aims to reduce or remove regulatory or administrative restrictions that can impede a business exporting or investing overseas.

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