Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to improve the Financial Reporting Council's responsiveness to freedom of information requests.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) currently operates on the basis that it is partially designated as a public authority under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) i.e. in relation to certain statutory functions including; the recognition of recognised supervisory and qualifying bodies; the independent supervision of the Auditors General; and the registration of third country auditors.
The Independent Review of the FRC recommended that the FOIA should be applied in full by the FRC and its successor body regulator. The Government will work with the FRC to take this forward.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
What steps he is taking to tackle money laundering.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Financial Action Task Force has just completed a landmark review of the UK’s regime for tackling money laundering, concluding that we have some of the strongest controls in the world.
We are building on our strengths. In the last six months, the Department has published a draft bill to tackle money laundering in the property market; set out reforms to tackle misuse of limited partnerships; and committed to consulting on reforms to Companies House.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when his Department plans to respond to the letter of 6 November 2018 from the hon. Member for Glasgow Central on the issue of fireworks.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
I have replied to the hon. Member. My office will be in touch shortly to schedule the meeting referred to.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many Scottish limited partnerships have not registered a person of significant control.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
There are around 18000 Scottish Limited Partnerships which are considered active. Of these, just over 2,700 have not submitted any person with significant control information.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many fines have been levied against Scottish limited partnerships for failing to register a person of significant control.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
No Scottish Limited Partnerships (SLPs) have been fined since the People with Significant Control register came into force.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to her on 2nd July 2018 to Question 157783. Compliance is Companies House’s primary aim, rather than prosecution. It is taking action to ensure that all SLPs report their PSC information. Companies House is actively engaged with SLPs and their representatives to make them aware of their responsibilities, and in addition, it has issued reminder letters to all SLPs who have failed to file PSC information. Failure to comply with the requirement to report PSC information does not incur a civil penalty but it is an offence and may lead to a fine or imprisonment upon prosecution. Companies House is not a prosecuting body and will refer cases to a relevant prosecutor when all other avenues have been exhausted and an SLP has not complied with their obligations.
In April the Government consulted on a package of reforms which would limit the misuse of limited partnerships, including in their Scottish form. I anticipate that the Government’s response will be published in due course.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of Scottish limited partnerships that are qualifying under the terms of the Scottish Partnerships (Register of People with Significant Control) Regulations 2017 and the Companies and Partnerships (Accounts and Audit) Regulations 2013.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
As of 31 October 2018, there are 31,982 Scottish Limited Partnerships (SLPs) registered with Companies House. I refer the Hon Member to the Department’s previous answer of 2 July 2018 to Question UIN 157784. All registered SLPs are eligible under the terms of the Scottish Partnerships (Register of People with Significant Control) Regulations 2017.
The above regulations also require a Scottish qualifying partnership (SQP) to register with Companies House and deliver information concerning its People with Significant Control (PSC). An SQP is a general partnership constituted under the law of Scotland that is a qualifying partnership under the Partnership (Accounts) Regulations 2008. On 31 October 2018, 378 bodies had declared as being eligible as SQPs and delivered PSC information to Companies House.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to publish a response to his Department's consultation on the review of limited partnership law.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
I anticipate that the response to the Government’s consultation will be published before the end of the year.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to his Department's consultation entitled Limited partnerships: reform of limited partnership law, published on 30 April 2018, when his Department plans to publish a response to that consultation.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The consultation closed on 23rd July 2018. We intend to publish the Government’s response in due course.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate has been made of potential additional CO2 emissions created as a result of increased trade with countries outside of the EU.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Government publishes experimental statistics on the ‘UK’s Carbon Footprint’. The footprint refers to ‘consumption’ emissions that are associated with the consumption spending of UK residents on goods and services, wherever in the world these emissions arise along the supply chain. The latest publication is available from: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uks-carbon-footprint.
This publication does not include projections of potential additional carbon dioxide emissions created as a result of increased trade with countries outside of the EU.
The Government is committed to tackling climate change. We are focused on galvanising international action to cut emissions, including by helping to secure the landmark Paris Agreement in 2015, and have been developing our approach on assessing emissions associated with international trade and imports alongside domestic emissions.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to amend the Equality Act 2010 to enable Scottish Courts to take protective measures to ensure that claimants in discrimination employment tribunals receive payments where they are due, including statutory powers to arrest funds.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Civil enforcement is a devolved matter and the powers of Scottish Courts in this respect are therefore a matter for the Scottish Government.
However, the Government is clear that where an employment tribunal has made an award then it should be paid promptly. That is why BEIS introduced the UK-wide unpaid award penalty scheme, in addition to other existing enforcement action, to improve award payment rates. Since introduction in April 2016, the unpaid award penalty scheme has levied penalties of £485,646 and secured payment of £829,343 of previously unpaid employment tribunal awards as of January 2018.
The Government also committed to further reforms to enforcement, including unpaid awards, following the Matthew Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices and will update on progress on those reforms in due course.