Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many officials in his Department have been seconded away from their normal duties to work on the UK's withdrawal from the EU; and what effect that secondment of staff has had on the effectiveness of his Department.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
In the run-up to the 29th of March deadline, the Department temporarily reprioritised 532 people to further support critical EU-exit work. In light of the Article 50 extension to the 31st of October, the Department has revaluated its portfolio work and is in the process of deprioritising these people. Of the original 532 people, 167 continue to support this critical EU-Exit work as of the 28th of May. During this time BEIS continued, and still continues, to deliver on its diverse portfolio.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he will publish the results of his call for evidence on a public register of the beneficial owners of overseas companies that own or buy UK property or bid for UK Government contracts.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
The Government has published its response to the call for evidence on the proposed register of overseas entities’ beneficial ownership on 22 March and issued a Written Ministerial Statement announcing this publication (HCWS576).
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether any part of the draft Bill for a public register of the beneficial owners of overseas companies that own or buy UK property or bid for UK Government contracts is still to be drafted.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
Work to prepare draft legislation for establishing a world-first register of overseas entities’ beneficial ownership is ongoing. The Government has made good progress and is on track to meeting its commitment of publishing the draft Bill before the summer recess this year.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
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 proportion of the Civil Service workforce in his Department dedicated to planning for (a) the UK leaving the EU and (b) projects relating to the UK leaving the EU.
Answered by Margot James
It is not possible to estimate the proportion of staff time dedicated to EU exit due to the interdependencies and synergies between EU exit and the Department’s other priorities. Teams across the Department are working on delivering a successful EU exit. This includes full-time staff in central coordination teams, and dedicated resource embedded in policy and delivery teams. The Department will continue to ensure there is an appropriate level of resource to deliver its EU exit programme.