Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
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 - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
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.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
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 - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
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.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
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 - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
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.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
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 - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
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.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what support he is providing to regional airports for the costs of installing infrastructure to allow a transition to green fuel sources.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As a predominately private sector investment in infrastructure is a matter for individual airports. The Government is however supporting R&D activity to enable the sector to prepare for the adoption of new zero emission aviation fuels such as hydrogen.
As part of the Tees-Valley Transport Hydrogen Hub DfT is supporting the establishment of re-fuelling stations at Teesside International Airport which can be used by hydrogen airside vehicles.
In October 2023 DfT launched a Transport Research and Innovation Grant competition. Through this we are offering funding for up to 10 projects which can facilitate the development of infrastructure for zero emission airport operations and the handling of zero emission aircraft. The competition has closed and applications are currently being assessed.
In addition, the Jet Zero Council has a dedicated sub-group on Zero Emission Flight Infrastructure. This group convenes representatives of government, industry and academia with an interest in developing zero emission flight in the UK.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what capital funding his Department is making available to support the development of infrastructure at regional airports.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Most airport operators are either in the commercial private sector or are public/private partnerships which operate commercially. As such, it is for airport owners to develop and fund proposals on the future development of airports. Airports may consider engaging with local authorities who are best placed to consider local transport priorities using the funding courses at their disposal.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has taken recent steps to provide financial support to asylum seekers housed in hotels for their voluntary return.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Home Office will always look to support those who wish to depart the United Kingdom voluntarily, and the extent of that support is based on a case-by-case assessment of an individual’s needs. General eligibility criteria can be found online at: Get help to return home if you’re a migrant in the UK: Who can get help - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
The Home Office publishes statistics on all types of removals from the UK, which include voluntary departures. The latest statistics are available at Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Published datasets for voluntary returns are available at: Returns and detention datasets - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
The cost of a voluntary return depends on the individual circumstances of the case, and therefore we are not able to provide a definitive figure.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps his Department has taken to help encourage the voluntary return of illegal migrants; and if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of his voluntary return schemes for reducing illegal immigration.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Home Office will always look to support those who wish to depart the United Kingdom voluntarily, and the extent of that support is based on a case-by-case assessment of an individual’s needs. General eligibility criteria can be found online at: Get help to return home if you’re a migrant in the UK: Who can get help - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
The Home Office publishes statistics on all types of removals from the UK, which include voluntary departures. The latest statistics are available at Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Published datasets for voluntary returns are available at: Returns and detention datasets - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
The cost of a voluntary return depends on the individual circumstances of the case, and therefore we are not able to provide a definitive figure.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much funding his Department has provided for the operation of voluntary return schemes for illegal migrants in the 2023-24 financial year.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Home Office will always look to support those who wish to depart the United Kingdom voluntarily, and the extent of that support is based on a case-by-case assessment of an individual’s needs. General eligibility criteria can be found online at: Get help to return home if you’re a migrant in the UK: Who can get help - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
The Home Office publishes statistics on all types of removals from the UK, which include voluntary departures. The latest statistics are available at Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Published datasets for voluntary returns are available at: Returns and detention datasets - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
The cost of a voluntary return depends on the individual circumstances of the case, and therefore we are not able to provide a definitive figure.
Asked by: Scott Benton (Independent - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the report by Parkinson's UK entitled Every minute counts, published in September 2023, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies of the proportion of patients with Parkinson's admitted to hospital who always receive their medication on time.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Within secondary care, hospital providers are responsible for ensuring that patients within hospital settings, including those with Parkinson’s disease, receive the appropriate medication on time.
NHS England has published a RightCare toolkit which aims to address challenges in providing services for those with progressive neurological conditions, including Parkinson’s disease. The toolkit provides advice on medicine optimisation, highlighting the importance of timely administration of specific drugs, such as Levodopa, in acute and community health settings.