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Written Question
Foreign Companies: Company Investigations
Tuesday 12th March 2024

Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department has received representations on the Insolvency Service’s procedure for investigating (a) criminal and (b) civil offences by UK registered companies owned by overseas entities.

Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Department is making enquires to determine whether such representations in respect of the Insolvency Service's procedures have been received. Any representations will be responded to as is appropriate.


Written Question
Freight: Insolvency
Thursday 29th February 2024

Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many road haulage businesses trading under SIC code 49410 entered insolvency in each of the last five years.

Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Estimated numbers of companies with the SIC code 49410 that entered insolvency in the UK in each of the last five calendar years are presented in the table below.

Calendar Year

Companies entering insolvency (SIC code 49410 – Freight Transport by Road)

2019

280

2020

189

2021

265

2022

408

2023

494


Written Question
Rugby: Sixways Stadium
Thursday 29th February 2024

Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of proposals submitted to her Department by Bond Group Sixways on resuming rugby at Sixways Stadium.

Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

Throughout the pandemic the Government went above and beyond through the Sport Survival Package (SSP) to provide a range of sports organisations across the country with generous financial support to ensure their survival throughout that difficult period. The Premiership Rugby club, Worcester Warriors, who played at Sixways Stadium were loaned money via the SSP.

In September 2022 Begbies Traynor were appointed as Administrators of Worcester Rugby Football Club (WRFC) Trading and Joint Receivers in relation to further companies within the structure of WRFC Trading. As Administrators, Begbies Traynor have a duty to act in the best interests of creditors and so the Department, as one of those creditors, has a limited role in those proceedings. It is for the Administrator to determine the best course of action to deliver on this objective in line with the Insolvency Act 1986 (as amended).


Written Question
New Businesses
Monday 26th February 2024

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.


Written Question
Roads: Freight
Wednesday 21st February 2024

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his policies of the number of road haulage businesses that entered insolvency in 2023; and whether he plans to take fiscal steps to help support the road haulage sector in the next 5 years.

Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government acknowledges the pressures the industry has faced in recent years and has taken decisive action to support the sector. This has included 33 measures in response to the driver shortage including significant investment in HGV Skills Bootcamps and on driver welfare facilities and lorry parking.

Additionally, at Autumn Statement 2023 the Government announced that it is continuing its support for haulage companies by freezing HGV Vehicle Excise Duty and the HGV Levy in 2024-25. This results in a tax saving for one of the most popular HGVs (a 38-44 tonne Artic lorry with 3 axles, EURO VI) of a total of £47 per annum. These measures form a package of support for hauliers, alongside the freezing of Fuel Duty as announced at Spring Budget 2023.

Like all taxes, the Government keeps HGV Vehicle Excise Duty and the HGV Levy under review.


Written Question
Freight: Insolvency
Tuesday 13th February 2024

Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate she has made of the number of road haulage businesses entering insolvency in 2023; and what steps he is taking to support that industry.

Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

In 2023 in the UK, 494 companies with a SIC code 49410 - Freight Transport by Road - entered insolvency.

At Autumn Statement 2023, the Government announced continuing support for haulage companies, freezing HGV Vehicle Excise Duty and the HGV Levy in 2024/25. This forms part of a package of support for hauliers, with the freezing of Fuel Duty announced at Spring Budget 2023, saving over £4,300 for the most common types of HGV in 2023/24.

The Department for Education is also offering high-quality apprenticeships and Skills Bootcamps, supporting the haulage sector to develop the skilled workforces it needs.


Written Question
Insolvency
Wednesday 31st January 2024

Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to recent figures released by the Government Insolvency Service which found that 2002 companies were declared insolvent last month, what plans they have to support companies facing monetary challenges and mitigate the rise in insolvencies.

Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

While insolvencies have risen in absolute terms, when this is compared to the number of active firms in the economy, the proportion of liquidations is well below previous periods of high insolvency numbers. The Government continues to help businesses with measures such as the Energy Bills Discount Scheme; the frozen business rates multiplier for 2023/24 resulting in bills that were 6% lower; increased 75% business rates relief for retail, hospitality and leisure properties; £1.6bn Transitional Relief, protecting ratepayers facing bill increases and the Supporting Small Business scheme that provides over £500 million in support.


Written Question
Individual Voluntary Arrangements: Fraud
Monday 11th December 2023

Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to tackle companies that provide misleading and fraudulent Individual Voluntary Arrangements.

Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Financial Conduct Authority recently took action to ban providers of debt advice from receiving payments in exchange for referring debtors to Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) providers. In addition, the Insolvency Service introduced new regulatory guidance to the insolvency profession in relation to the take up of new IVAs.

The Government has announced that it will further strengthen the regulatory regime by introducing new legislation to regulate firms providing insolvency services, in addition to individual insolvency practitioners, which will include companies providing IVA solutions.


Written Question
NHS: Private Sector
Thursday 30th November 2023

Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following the decision by One Norwich Practices to stop providing services to the NHS, including a walk-in centre, because of financial problems, whether they will conduct an investigation into the board of that company and its management of services.

Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board (ICB) and One Norwich Practices have been working constructively to identify appropriate alternative providers and develop plans to transfer services and staff. The ICB’s immediate priorities are to ensure that disruption to patient care is minimised and to protect the wellbeing of staff at One Norwich Practices. Once these immediate priorities are addressed, the ICB will be in a position to undertake its own internal review of the circumstances that may have contributed to One Norwich Practices’ insolvency.

As a commissioner, the ICB is not in receipt of the financial information of its contractors, and the ICB is not responsible for the financial viability of any organisation, nor any subsequent arrangements, financial or otherwise, within a wider group of companies or partners with whom the ICB does not directly commission services.


Written Question
Insolvency
Wednesday 28th June 2023

Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many (a) businesses and (b) people filed for bankruptcy in (i) York, (ii) Yorkshire and the Humber and (iii) England in each year since 2015.

Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Information on company insolvencies is sourced from Companies House, which holds information on companies only, not all business types. Furthermore, the registered office address for a company may not be its trading location, and is often the address of the appointed Insolvency Practitioner handling the case.

Subject to these caveats, numbers of company insolvencies in the requested locations were:

Year

York

Yorkshire and the Humber

England

2015

102

1,850

13,913

2016

90

1,944

13,968

2017

61

1,857

13,976

2018

74

2,005

15,390

2019

99

2,140

16,554

2020

67

1,654

12,266

2021

86

2,103

13,701

2022

140

2,855

21,544

2023 (to 31 May)

38

1,164

9,682

The numbers of individuals who entered bankruptcy were:

Year

York

Yorkshire and the Humber

England

2015

47

1,558

14,808

2016

44

1,381

14,131

2017

47

1,362

14,220

2018

37

1,535

15,656

2019

39

1,474

15,801

2020

34

1,162

12,003

2021

15

766

8,232

2022

26

580

6,322

Numbers for 2023 form part of Official Statistics to be published in March/April 2024. The latest release can be found at Individual Insolvencies by Location, Age and Gender, England and Wales, 2022.