Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to section 4 of the Trade Union Act 2016, when he plans to commission an independent review of electronic balloting; and which organisations he plans to consult before preparing his response to that review.
Answered by Nick Boles
The Trade Union Act establishes that the Government will commission an independent review of electronic balloting in trade union industrial action ballots within six months of the passing of the Act, which received Royal Assent on 4 May 2016.
The Government is currently considering the next steps before the launch of the independent review and will provide further details in due course.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether it is his policy that the proposed public register of beneficial owners of companies will provide details of the names of (a) trust or company service providers and (b) other third parties which incorporate those companies.
Answered by Anna Soubry
Since 6th April this year, UK companies (with exception of listed companies), limited liability partnerships and societates europaeae have been required to hold a register of people with significant control (PSC register). The register records the ultimate owners and controllers of UK companies. It is designed to record individuals. However, where a company is owned by another company that is also required to hold a PSC register, or is subject to equivalent disclosure requirements, those companies should be recorded on the register.
Where a company is owned and or controlled by a third party incorporation agent including Trust and Company Service Providers (TCSP) and they are also required to hold a PSC register or are subject to equivalent transparency requirements then they would be required to be registered on that company’s PSC register. If the third party incorporation agent is not required to hold its own PSC register then the UK company would be required to look further up the ownership chain to identify who owns and controls the TCSP. The ultimate owner would be recorded on the PSC register.
Where a third party incorporation agent has incorporated a company on behalf of someone else and they do not own or control the company, then the register would not record the third party incorporation agent details. It would instead record who actually owns and controls that UK company.
How the PSC register works is explained in detailed guidance that has been prepared by BIS with the help of a working group of businesses, lawyers and civil society organisations. The guidance can be found here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-the-people-with-significant-control-requirements-for-companies-and-limited-liability-partnerships.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the Answer of 31 March 2016 to Question 31997, on employment: telephone services, if he will provide that data for financial years (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13 and (d) 2013-14.
Answered by Nick Boles
The table below shows the number of referrals (complaints) from the Pay and Work Rights Helpline (PWRH) to relevant enforcement authorities for the 2010/11 to 2013/14 financial years.
Table 1: Referrals from the PWRH to each enforcement agencies, 2010/11 to 2013/14
| 2010/11 | 2011/12 | 2012/13 | 2013/14 |
HMRC | 2,080 | 2,440 | 2,610 | 3,690 |
EAS | 490 | 530 | 600 | 630 |
HSE | 200 | 250 | 210 | 250 |
DEFRA | 280 | 210 | 200 | 150 |
GLA | 60 | 70 | 50 | 50 |
*The Pay and Work Rights Helpline opened in May 2009
Notes
1. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10.
2. Calls can be referred to more than one agency so the sum does not amount to the total number of calls referred for the period.
3. Calls referred to agencies include complaints, complex queries and calls where intelligence was passed to other agencies.
4. Figures include referrals via all PWRH communication channels, including telephone calls, post and online complaints.
5. These figures are based on final data submitted by BSS on closure at the end of March 2015. They may not reconcile with provisional data provided while the old helpline was operational.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether it is his policy that the proposed public register of beneficial owners of companies will provide details of the names of (a) trust or company service providers and (b) other third parties which incorporated those companies.
Answered by Anna Soubry
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
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 31 March 2016 to Question 31997, on employment: telephone services, if he will provide that data for financial years (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13 and (d) 2013-14.
Answered by Nick Boles
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
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 May 2016 to Question 35753, how many and which companies have not confirmed to Companies House that they no longer have bearer shares; and what action he plans to take against such companies.
Answered by Anna Soubry
As of 6 May 2016, 63 companies had not informed Companies House that they no longer have bearer shares.
No action will be taken against these companies at the present time. There is no statutory obligation for any company that has converted bearer shares to registered shares to inform Companies House until it delivers its annual return or confirmation statement.
I have requested the Registrar of Companies to write to the Hon Member with the list of the company names.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when he plans to announce the results of the consultation, Property ownership and public contracting by foreign countries: improving transparency, published on 4 March 2016.
Answered by Anna Soubry
The Government is currently analysing the responses to the discussion paper, with a view to announcing its next steps shortly.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to paragraph 15 of Beneficial Ownership Transparency: enhancing transparency of beneficial ownership information of foreign companies undertaking certain economic activities in the UK, published by his Department in March 2016, how much property has been investigated as suspected proceeds of corruption in each year since 2004-05; and what proportion of those properties in each of those years used offshore corporate ownership.
Answered by Anna Soubry
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills does not hold the information requested. Paragraph 15 of the discussion paper refers to information from the 2015 Transparency International Report “Corruption on your Doorstep”. The Metropolitan Police’s Proceeds of Corruption Unit provided the information to inform the report prior to their joining the National Crime Agency to form the International Corruption Unit. I have received the assurance that it is not possible to provide the information broken down by year without redoing the research which would be at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many cases of alleged malpractice by directors of companies the Insolvency Service investigated in each year since 2009; and in each of those years how many directors of such companies were disqualified from practising on account of offences committed (a) in the UK and (b) abroad.
Answered by Anna Soubry
When a company enters into formal insolvency proceedings, the insolvency practitioner (IP) has to file a report on the conduct of the directors unless an official receiver is in office; and each of those reports is assessed by the Insolvency Service to determine if a more detailed investigation is appropriate. When a company enters into compulsory liquidation, although this is not itself an indication of misconduct, the official receiver will in all cases make enquiries to determine the cause of insolvency and the conduct of the directors of the company.
The number of reports of misconduct submitted by IPs is detailed in the table below, alongside the total number of compulsory liquidations each year.
Reporting year | IP reports of misconduct | Compulsory liquidations | Total disqualifications |
09/10 | 7,030 | 5,418 | 1,386 |
10/11 | 5,373 | 4,573 | 1,453 |
11/12 | 5,401 | 5,125 | 1,165 |
12/13 | 5,335 | 4,001 | 1,034 |
13/14 | 4,671 | 3,734 | 1,282 |
14/15 | 4,620 | 3,588 | 1,210 |
15/16 | 4,277 | 2,778 | *810 |
*Disqualifications in the period from April 2015 to December 2015, the latest period for which official statistics are available.
All of these cases relate to companies based in and trading in the UK. In many cases, a disqualification will be obtained in a period subsequent to the submission of a report or the insolvency of the company. Each case may encompass a number of directors.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of companies newly registered with Companies House have been (i) directly incorporated and (ii) set up by third parties such as trust or company service providers in each year since 2004; and in each of those years how many complaints Companies House received about the conduct of companies in each group.
Answered by Anna Soubry
Companies House does not hold the information requested. Newly incorporated companies are not categorised on the basis of whether they were formed directly or by a third party such as a Trust or Company Service Provider.