Asked by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)
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 take steps to ensure that Companies House holds a legible copy of the Thames Water Utilities 2017-18 annual accounts.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
When Thames Water Utilities Limited files its accounts for 2017-18 they will be subject to Companies House’s usual examination checks. These include checks to ensure a legible copy can be made for the Public Record. If Companies House is not satisfied a legible copy can be made it will reject them and ask for a copy that meets the requirements.
Asked by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)
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 companies with (a) 500 to 1,000 and (b) more than 1,000 employees.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
Data that relies on company filings such as annual reports as its source shows that, as at 27 June 2018, 3,263 UK companies report that they have between 500 and 1,000 employees; and 3,573 UK companies report that they have more than 1,000 employees.
Asked by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which body has responsibility for monitoring the good governance of the recognised professional bodies.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
The Insolvency Service, an executive agency of the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, regulates the Recognised Professional Bodies on behalf of my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State.
The Recognised Professional Bodies, when discharging their regulatory functions, are required to act in a way which is compatible with statutory regulatory objectives. The Insolvency Service has a range of powers exercisable against the Recognised Professional Bodies if these objectives are not met.
Asked by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)
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 a table showing the number of (a) individuals and (b) firms licenced by each of the recognised professional bodies.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
The number of insolvency practitioners licensed by each of the 5 Recognised Professional Bodies is published every year as part of The Insolvency Service’s ‘Annual Review of Insolvency Practitioner Regulation’. The most recent report was published on 11 May 2018 and is available on Gov.uk
Only individuals, not firms, can be licensed to act as insolvency practitioners.
The Insolvency Service maintains a public register of insolvency practitioners, including the names of firms, which is available online.
Asked by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)
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 make it his policy to amend the Companies Act 2006 to reduce the number of recognised supervisory bodies.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has no such plans. The Recognised Supervisory Bodies have an important role in approving and registering statutory auditors, inspecting their work and investigating possible instances of professional misconduct. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) oversees the work of RSBs and has particular responsibilities of its own where there is a public interest in an independent body fulfilling these tasks.
Asked by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)
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 a list of the (a) public, (b) private, (c) self-regulatory and (d) other bodies which have regulatory responsibility for enforcing compliance with the Companies Act 2006.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
The following UK bodies have regulatory responsibility for enforcing compliance with the Companies Act 2006:
Public Bodies (under the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000):
Companies House
Financial Reporting Council
Insolvency Service
Other:
Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
Chartered Accountants Ireland
Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales
Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland
Takeover Appeal Board
Takeover Panel
This answer does not consider obligations on companies and other businesses generally such as employment regulation, environmental regulation or for reasons of public safety, or those bodies that have general responsibilities in respect of criminal investigations and prosecutions. The categorisation of bodies reflects the categorisation used for government accounting purposes and the application of the requirements of managing public money.
Asked by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)
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 a list of the (a) public, (b) private, (c) self-regulatory and (d) other bodies which have regulatory responsibility for enforcing compliance with the insolvency laws.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
Under the provisions of the Insolvency Act 1986, my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State recognises certain independent professional bodies, called Recognised Professional Bodies, for the purpose of authorising their members to act as insolvency practitioners. There are currently five Recognised Professional Bodies:
Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales;
Insolvency Practitioners Association;
Association of Chartered Certified Accountants;
Institute of Charted Accountants of Scotland; and
Chartered Accountants Ireland.
The Recognised Professional Bodies enforce compliance with insolvency laws by insolvency practitioners they authorise. The Insolvency Service, an executive agency of the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, regulates the Recognised Professional Bodies on behalf of the Secretary of State. The Insolvency Service also enforces compliance with insolvency laws through a range of powers exercisable against a Recognised Professional Body and directly against an insolvency practitioner.
Asked by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many court and tribunal cases (a) brought by HMRC and (b) against HMRC are awaiting a hearing.
Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
This data is not collated centrally, and an accurate answer could not be provided except at disproportionate cost.
The vast majority of HMRC cases are waiting to be heard before the First Tier Tribunal. At 31 March 2018, there were over 25,000 appeals on hand in the FTT. Over 16,000 of those appeals are ‘stood over’. This is where HMRC and the taxpayer have agreed to put the appeal on hold waiting for a decision in a related case. Stood over cases are not actively progressed by the tribunal and can remain on hand for many years while the lead case is decided.
There are approximately 9,000 lead cases actively making their way through the First Tier Tribunal where HMRC are either actively working the cases, progressing them within tribunal directions, or are waiting either to be heard by the tribunal or awaiting a tribunal decisions to be issued.
Asked by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)
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 regulatory bodies sponsored by his Department.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
The Department has identified a number of partner organisations as performing regulatory functions. They are the British Hallmarking Council, the Coal Authority, the Competition and Markets Authority, the Copyright Tribunal, the Financial Reporting Council, the Insolvency Service, the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets, the Oil and Gas Authority and the UK Space Agency.
Asked by: Kelvin Hopkins (Independent - Luton North)
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 regulatory bodies sponsored by his Department that are not subject to Freedom of Information legislation.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
All our regulatory bodies are subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 with the exception of the Financial Reporting Council which is subject to the Act for some but not all of its functions. The Financial Reporting Council and its status under the Freedom of Information Act is currently being reviewed by Sir John Kingman. We expect the review to report at the end of 2018.