Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish the (a) number and (b) proportion of total staff engaged by RCDTS via an umbrella company or similar in either an (i) individual or (ii) limited company capacity in each year since July 2015 to date.

In accordance with retention policy and in preparation to ensure compliance with the 2017 reforms to the off-payroll working rules, RCDTS only holds a complete central record of engagements from 2016 to present.

With contingent staff there is always at least one agency between RCDTS and the individual contractor, although in practice this contract may be further sub-contracted, so that there are multiple agencies between RCDTS and the contractor.

Umbrella companies are known to be used by off-payroll workers engaged via an intermediary and records show this to be the case for 102 or 43% of total engagements for which records are held.

RCDTS would hold a contractual relationship with either the recruitment agency or service provider rather than any umbrella company and is not involved in the payment arrangements of individual contractors.