Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will set a deadline for the UK Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies to make public their central registers of beneficial ownership.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The UK Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies are separate jurisdictions with their own democratically elected governments. The UK Government works closely with the Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies on transparency issues. Our priority is the implementation of the new bilateral arrangements concluded with them in 2016. Under these arrangements, the Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies have committed to establish, where they have not already done so, central registers of beneficial ownership information or similarly effective systems and to give UK law enforcement and tax authorities near real-time access to beneficial ownership information on corporate and legal entities incorporated in their jurisdictions. Nevertheless, it remains the Government’s ambition for public registers to become the global standard. If this happens, we would expect the Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies to follow suit.
Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many companies supplying goods and services to the Government have been identified as avoiding their tax liabilities in the UK.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
Checking tax compliance is the responsibility of the contracting authority. This information is not held centrally.
Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many young people in Merseyside have applied for apprenticeships under the civil service apprenticeship scheme; how many such applications were successful; how many such apprenticeships were taken up; and how many of those apprentices served in areas which they had denoted they wished to serve in.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
In 2017, 1,481 people in Merseyside have applied for apprenticeships under the Civil Service apprenticeship scheme, known as Civil Service Fast Track. Fast Track is not aimed purely at young people as it as no upper age limit.
143 were successful and all apprentices took up offers.
15 served in their first preference of Merseyside. The remaining apprentices were offered other locations in the UK.
Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the Government intends to (a) appoint an anti-corruption champion and (b) release its Anti-Corruption Strategy.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The Government intends to appoint an Anti-Corruption champion in due course.
The position of the Anti-Corruption Strategy remains the same as in the answer I gave to a smililar question on 27 June (PQ144); the Government is working on a new Anit-Corruption Strategy which will be published in due course.
Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Prime Minister, on how many occasions the EU Exit and Trade Cabinet Committee has met; and who chaired each such meeting.
Answered by Theresa May
As has been the practice under successive Governments, information relating to the proceedings of Cabinet Committees is not disclosed.
Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to appoint an anti-corruption champion.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
A decision on the anti-corruption champion appointment will be made in due course.
Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to review progress on the commitments made at the 2016 International Anti-Corruption Summit; and what the timetable is for further reviews of that progress.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
Progress on the anti-corruption commitments made at the 2016 Summit is continuously monitored.
The UK has made good progress. Since last May, we have for example:
● Established a public central register of beneficial ownership information;
● Introduced Unexplained Wealth Orders and other important anti-corruption measures through the Criminal Finances Act;
● Undergone the first IMF Fiscal Transparency Evaluation for a G7 country; and
● Launched the ‘Contracting 5’ (C5) initiative at the Open Government Partnership Global Summit 2016 with Colombia, France, Mexico, and Ukraine.
Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the Government plans to publish its Anti-Corruption Strategy.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The government is working on a new Anti-Corruption Strategy which will be published in due course.
Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether a timetable has been agreed for achieving the objectives of the Global Forum for Asset Recovery.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The Global Forum for Asset Recovery (GFAR) was announced in May 2016. The US and UK will co-host the inaugural meeting by end 2017. This will be an opportunity to progress asset recovery cases, focusing on Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Tunisia and the Ukraine.
Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government owns the Tranmere Tunnels.
Answered by Ben Gummer
Based on all evidence found, the Tranmere Tunnels were conveyed to the Ministry of Works in 1955 and we are to assume that no disposition occurred in the intervening years. The title now rests, through statutory devolution, with the Department for Communities and Local Government.