Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she (a) last met and (b) plans to meet the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The last meeting between the Home Secretary and the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) was on 13 June 2023.
The Home Secretary will seek to schedule a further meeting with the ICIBI in due course.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when will appoint the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner.
Answered by Sarah Dines
The role of the Anti-Slavery Commissioner (IASC) as set out in the 2015 Modern Slavery Act is to encourage good practice in the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of slavery and human trafficking offences and the identification of victims.
The Home Secretary recognises the importance of the IASC and had launched a new open competition to recruit for this role on the 23 February 2023, the process for which is now at an advanced stage.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many convictions have been made for the illegitimate supply of nitrous oxide under the The Psychoactive Substances Act 2016.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the number of offenders convicted for various offences under the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016, including for the supply of a psychoactive substance, in the Outcomes by Offence data tool: December 2022.
However, it is not possible to disaggregate the supply of nitrous oxide from other psychoactive substances, as detail of exactly what substance is supplied is not held centrally in the Court Proceedings database.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to Paragraph E-ECP.3.3 of Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules, if she will bring forward proposals to ensure that people receiving Adult Disability Payments benefit from the same provisions as those receiving Personal Independence Payments.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
We are aware that the Scottish Government have made changes to the benefits system in Scotland and certain benefits previously paid by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have been amended and are now paid by Social Security Scotland, including Adult Disability payments. We keep the Immigration Rules under constant review and these changes will form part of that ongoing review process.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral contribution of the Secretary of State for Scotland at Scotland Questions, Official Report on 13 September 2023, whether it is her policy not to intervene should a pilot supervised drug consumption facility go ahead in Scotland.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
I refer the Hon Lady to my comments earlier today in the Chamber.
We look forward to seeing details including proposals for the individual consideration of cases and links to treatment which may be relevant.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unexplained wealth orders have been used since the scheme was revised.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
Since the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act came into effect on 15 March 2022 the two applications for UWOs have been applied for in the High Court.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what (a) value and (b) number of fines have been issued against Scottish Limited Partnerships for failing to register a Person of Significant Control in each month since the relevant regulations came into force.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
There have been 2 convictions of Scottish Limited Partnerships (SLPs) for failure to register information for Persons with Significant Control (“PSCs”) under The Scottish Partnerships (Register of People with Significant Control) Regulations 2017. The latest conviction was in August 2023.
The prosecuting authority is the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS). The Registrar is not advised of the level of the fine in each case. Up to 31 March 2023, Companies House have passed 106 cases to COPFS for prosecution. Companies House publish figures for “Prosecutions under the Scottish Partnerships (Register of People with Significant Control) Regulations 2017” as part of their management information. This is a link to the publication (see Table 7):
Companies House management information: April 2022 to March 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many qualifying Scottish Limited partnerships have not registered a person of significant control in each year since the requirement to do so came into force.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Further to the answer to a previous query on this topic (UIN 75983) tabled on 1 November 2022, as of 31 August 2023, Companies House considers 7,836 Scottish Limited Partnerships (‘SLPs’) on the register to be active. Of these 85 have failed to register information for persons with significant control. This compares to 201 on 31 October 2022, 203 SLPs in January 2022, 213 SLPs in October 2021, 828 in January 2021, 948 in January 2020, 2,019 in January 2019 and 7,078 in January 2018.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential effect of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 on access to justice for asylum seekers.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Illegal Migration Act will ensure that the only way to come to the UK for asylum will be through safe and legal routes, and we are working across Government to ensure access to justice for asylum seekers.
All individuals who receive a removal notice under the Illegal Migration Act will have access to legal aid, without facing a means or merits test, to help ensure access to justice.
Asked by: Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the value of fines (a) issued and (b) paid for non compliance with the requirements of the Register of of Overseas Entities was as of 4 September 2023; and how many fines were (i) issued and (ii) paid as of 4 September 2023.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Before imposing a penalty, a warning notice must be issued. Over 1,200 notices have so far been issued. As of 4 September 2023, fourteen penalties have been issued for non-compliance with a value of circa £490,000, zero have been paid. A further five penalties were issued 6 September bringing the total value to £660,000.
Once the warning is issued, Companies House must allow 28 days for representation and factor in time to mitigate delays in the international postal system. Only after that point will Companies House issue the penalty. During these stages, compliance by the entity will cease the case. To date, forty warned entities have complied, meaning that no financial penalty will be imposed.