Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2018 to Question 175844 on Property: Ownership, for what reason the Government did not follow the May 2016-April 2018 timeline referred to in the Open Government National Action Plan 2016-18 for bringing forward legislative proposals on the property ownership register.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 16 October 2018 to Question 175844.
The register of overseas entities will be the first of its kind in the world and we must ensure that we get our legislative proposals right in order to deliver the policy in a full and effective way. The timetable set out in the Written Ministerial Statement [HCWS425] referred to in my previous response enables this.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment his Department has made of the ability of Companies House to verify beneficial ownership data submitted to the register.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Companies House carries out a number of checks on all information received; ensuring it is valid, complete, correctly formatted and in compliance with company filing requirements. The obligation to ensure the information is accurate lies with the company and its directors. A company commits an offence if it files false information.
In addition, following the Financial Action Task Force evaluation, which will report back in due course, the Government will actively consider areas where the Anti Money Laundering/Counter Terrorism Finance framework can be improved. The Government will look in particular at controls over who registers companies in the UK, what information they have to provide, and how assurance is provided over that information
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
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 the Open Government National Action Plan 2016-18, published on 12 May 2016, for what reason the Government's April 2018 deadline for bringing forward legislative proposals on the property ownership register has not been met.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
A Written Ministerial Statement (HCWS425) was published on 24 January 2018 confirming the timetable for the establishment of a public register of beneficial owners of non-UK entities that own or buy property in the UK. As committed to in the Written Ministerial Statement, the Government published a draft Bill before the summer recess.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has any plans to privatise the British Business Bank.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The British Business Bank (BBB) is 100% owned by Government and we have no plans to alter that position.
As at end of July 2018, the Start Up Loans programme – run by the Start Up Loans Company (SULCo), a subsidiary of BBB – had lent £436m to more than 57,000 entrepreneurs.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many licensed insolvency practitioners have been charged with misconduct since the publication of the Tomlinson report, Banks' Lending Practices: Treatment of Businesses in distress, published in November 2013.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
Details of sanctions imposed against insolvency practitioners by their licensing bodies are published each year as part of The Insolvency Service’s ‘Annual Review of Insolvency Practitioner Regulation’. In addition, sanctions within the past 12 months are published individually on The Service’s website.
108 sanctions have been published since the beginning of January 2014.
2 recent sanctions will be added to the website shortly.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
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 publish the number of licensed insolvency practitioners that have been charged with misconduct since the Financial Conduct Authority's report, RBS's treatment of SME customers referred to its Global Restructuring Group, published in September 2016.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
Details of sanctions imposed against insolvency practitioners by their licensing bodies are published each year as part of The Insolvency Service’s ‘Annual Review of Insolvency Practitioner Regulation’. In addition, individual sanctions are published on the Insolvency Service’s website throughout each year.
Seventy sanctions have been published since the start of 2016, 36 of those since the beginning of 2017 and 2 recent sanctions will be added to the website shortly.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress the Government is making on its plans for the introduction of a cap on energy bills; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Margot James
The detriment to retail energy customers on poor value standard variable tariffs, which was identified by the Competition and Market Authority as averaging £1.4bn a year, must be addressed.
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has written to the Chief Executive of Ofgem asking him to advise on what action the regulator intends to take to safeguard consumers on the poorest value tariffs and to consider the future of standard variable tariffs. The Secretary of State will consider further action in the light of Ofgem’s proposals and remains prepared to legislate if necessary.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress the Government is making on its plans for new policies on mergers and takeovers; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Margot James
The Government will publish the outcome of its review in due course.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what equality impact assessment his Department has undertaken on the introduction of a cap on energy bills; and if he will place a copy of that assessment in the Library.
Answered by Margot James
My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State wrote to the CEO of Ofgem on 21 June asking him to advise on what action the regulator might take to protect consumers on the poorest value tariffs and to consider the future of standard variable tariffs. The Department has not undertaken an equality impact assessment on the introduction of a cap on energy bills. The Secretary of State will decide on how to proceed when he has considered Ofgem’s proposals.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what distributional analysis his Department has undertaken on the introduction of a cap on energy bills; and if he will place a copy of that analysis in the Library.
Answered by Margot James
My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State wrote to the CEO of Ofgem on 21 June asking him to advise on what action the regulator intends to take to safeguard consumers on the poorest value tariffs and to consider the future of standard variable tariffs. The Secretary of State will decide on how to proceed, including on whether any additional analysis is necessary, when he has considered Ofgem’s proposals.