Asked by: Jonathan Hinder (Labour - Pendle and Clitheroe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to ensure the government's industrial strategy supports industry in Lancashire.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is ensuring its Industrial Strategy supports industry in Lancashire by aligning national priorities with local strengths in advanced manufacturing, defence, digital and clean energy sectors. This includes targeted investment in skills, innovation and infrastructure, alongside support for business growth and exports through the Department for Business and Trade’s (DBT) integrated Business Growth Service. DBT is working with local partners to deliver the Lancashire Growth Plan, strengthen connectivity to city regions and support high-growth firms, including midsized businesses, complemented by programmes like Made Smarter helping SMEs adopt advanced digital technologies and improving productivity, competitiveness and long term regional growth outcomes.
Asked by: Jonathan Hinder (Labour - Pendle and Clitheroe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps the he is taking to ensure the government's industrial strategy supports towns in the North of England.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government’s Modern Industrial Strategy is a 10-year, place-based plan supporting towns across the North to grow and attract investment. It aligns with the Northern Growth Strategy, realising the potential of the North’s £476 billion economy and 8.1 million jobs.
Through the industrial strategy eight priority sectors—including clean energy, advanced manufacturing and defence—we are targeting investment and innovation where the North has clear strengths. We are working with Mayoral Strategic Authorities and local authorities to deliver local priorities, while improving skills, infrastructure and access to finance so that growth benefits towns and communities across the North.
Asked by: Jonathan Hinder (Labour - Pendle and Clitheroe)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the barriers to achieving the swift delivery of legal papers.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government recognises that the swift delivery of legal papers is fundamental to due process and in ensuring effective access to justice and procedural fairness.
In most circumstances, court procedure rules allow for the immediate service of documents by electronic means, such as email or uploading helping us to drive efficiencies through new technology. The Civil Auto File Share, for example, enables call handlers to access electronic court files in real time and provide informed responses instantly.
However, where other methods are used, manual administrative processes, incorrect contact information, and postal service delays can cause failure or delay in service. Our broader court reforms aim to tackle these kinds of inefficiencies. We are pulling every lever at our disposal – record financial investment, pragmatic structural reform, and a programme of efficiencies – to tackle the Crown Court backlog, reduce delays for victims, and modernise our criminal courts.
We are committed to building an efficient and dynamic system that is fit for the future.
Asked by: Jonathan Hinder (Labour - Pendle and Clitheroe)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reform the probate system.
Answered by Catherine Atkinson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
A well-functioning probate system is essential to providing certainty for bereaved families and supporting the timely administration of estates.
The Government is continuing to modernise the probate service to improve efficiency and accessibility. This includes the digitisation of probate applications, enhancements to case management systems and wider operational improvements to support quicker and more reliable processing. The President of the Family Division has established a working group to look at the Non-Contentious Probate Rules 1987 with a view to identifying improvements.
HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has improved processing times, with the majority of applications now completed within published service standards. Where cases take longer, this is often due to the complexity of the estate or the need for further information from personal representatives. The Government keeps the operation of the service under regular review to ensure it continues to meet users’ needs.
Asked by: Jonathan Hinder (Labour - Pendle and Clitheroe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what plans his Department has to modernise and streamline the process of delivering bankruptcy petitions.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Bankruptcy provides debt relief for many people seeking to deal with financial difficulty, who may petition for their own bankruptcy online in a straightforward manner. It should not be used as a debt collection mechanism except as a final resort. For that reason, creditors presenting a bankruptcy petition to the courts must meet strict requirements, so as to reduce the risk of strategic or coercive filings.
There are no current plans to alter the bankruptcy petition process, which reflects the serious consequences of bankruptcy and its intended use as a last resort.
Asked by: Jonathan Hinder (Labour - Pendle and Clitheroe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what plans his Department has to encourage greater partnership between insolvency practitioners and Companies House to prevent phoenixing.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
There is already a well-established director disqualification regime in the UK to prevent directors guilty of misconduct from taking part in the management of companies in the future.
Insolvency practitioners have a duty to report to the Government’s Insolvency Service on the directors’ conduct within three months of liquidation or administration. Where serious misconduct is identified, this can lead to disqualification or referral for criminal prosecution.
Since the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, Companies House and The Insolvency Service have been developing a deeper enforcement partnership. Updates on implementation are included in the annual reports provided to Parliament.
Asked by: Jonathan Hinder (Labour - Pendle and Clitheroe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he plans to prevent the directors of companies which become insolvent during their directorship from setting up more companies.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
It is important to remember that most companies do not become insolvent due to wrongdoing. Directors of an insolvent company can run similar businesses unless they are disqualified or subject to restrictions. Where directors abuse the system, the Secretary of State has powers to investigate and, if appropriate, pursue their disqualification or prosecution of the relevant directors.
Companies House and The Insolvency Service are currently strengthening their intelligence sharing to better identify rogue directors.
The Government continually reviews corporate and insolvency laws.
Asked by: Jonathan Hinder (Labour - Pendle and Clitheroe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions he has had with Companies House on phoenixing.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The 2023 Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act has strengthened the Registrar of Companies’ enforcement and investigative powers, enabling it to act as a more active gatekeeper over company registrations and directors.
As announced in the November Budget Statement, additional funding is now being provided for the Insolvency Service to set up a new Abusive Phoenixism Taskforce, specifically to deal with this type of director misconduct. The Insolvency Service is working closely with Companies House and HM Revenue and Customs to identify and tackle abusive phoenixism.
Asked by: Jonathan Hinder (Labour - Pendle and Clitheroe)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what consideration she has given to the potential merits of extending the exemption of assets liable for inheritance tax payable in yearly instalments to investments in companies in administration or liquidation.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Inheritance tax on shares in companies in administration or the process of liquidation at the time of a transfer, such as a death, may qualify for payment in annual instalments if they meet the criteria in s228 of Inheritance Tax Act 1984.
When paying in annual instalments, the outstanding balance of tax only becomes payable in full immediately if an interest or part of an interest in a business is sold. A distribution in cash made to shareholders on a liquidation is the winding up of a company, rather than a sale, and so the facility to pay in instalments is not lost in those circumstances.
Asked by: Jonathan Hinder (Labour - Pendle and Clitheroe)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what consideration her Department has given to the recommendations of the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee regarding inheritance tax.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government’s response to the Economic Affairs Finance Bill Sub-Committee was published on 30 March 2026 and it is available at https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/52446/documents/291079/default/.