Every parliamentary written question tabled by Ben Lake this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 1–7 of 7 · Department for Business and Trade
What assessment he has made of the adequacy of Companies House address verification procedures in preventing overseas entities from registering UK companies at virtual office addresses, residential properties, or addresses used by large numbers of unconnected companies.
Awaiting answer.
Since the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 came into force, how many companies have been (a) investigated by Companies House for filing dormant accounts whilst conducting active trading, (b) referred by Companies House to HMRC for suspected VAT non-compliance, and (c) referred by Companies House to the Insolvency Service for suspected fraudulent trading.
Awaiting answer.
What discussions his Department has had with the Competition and Markets Authority regarding opening a strategic market status investigation into Microsoft and its software licensing practices.
The Department for Business and Trade engages regularly with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on competition issues. The CMA is independent of Government, and decisions on initiating strategic market status investigations (SMS) are a matter for the CMA Board. The CMA has announced that it will open a SMS investigation into Microsoft’s business software ecosystem, expected to launch in May 2026.
How much of the £2.5 billion fund to develop the steel industry as set out under the UK Steel Strategy will be spent in Wales.
The steel strategy reaffirms the government’s intention to spend up to £2.5 billion on the steel sector. This is in addition to the £500 million for Port Talbot. Building on the direct financial support the government has provided to the sector so far, the National Wealth Fund will be the UK government’s main mechanism for providing financing for investment in the steel sector. Investment decisions are made by the National Wealth Fund on a case-by-case basis and it supports promising projects across the United Kingdom Specifically for Wales, the Secretary of State for Wales will convene the National Wealth Fund and the private sector in a new initiative to help attract investment to Welsh steel projects, to support communities across Wales that rely on the industry.
How many sub postmasters resident in Wales have had claims related to the Horizon IT system (a) settled and (b) not settled.
The Department for Business and Trade has not, to date, compiled data on Horizon-related claims by the UK’s constituent countries; however, we intend to include this breakdown in a future publication. Overall, across the UK, as of 28 November 2025, approximately 10,000 claims have been settled under the Horizon redress schemes, while around 2,600 received claims remain unsettled.
Whether he has received representations from the Welsh Government on the amount of funding to allocated to Wales from the steel fund.
The UK Government has committed up to £2.5 billion to support the steel industry, which is being delivered in part through the National Wealth Fund. This is in addition to £500 million towards Tata’s transformation of Port Talbot steelworks. The National Wealth Fund, which is operationally independent, is already engaging with companies across the UK on projects that meet its investment principles.The Welsh Government is represented on the Steel Council, which is a key body for developing our Steel Strategy, to be published later this year.
Whether levels of compensation payments reflect the impact that failures in the Horizon system had on the families of affected sub-postmasters.
Many of the impacts experienced by family members of affected postmasters will already be compensated for under the relevant scheme in which postmasters are seeking redress. For example, there will be full compensation paid to the affected postmaster for joint losses such as where a family home has been lost, and this will take account of the financial impacts on family members.The Government is however considering whether to extend additional redress to members of postmasters’ families who were affected by the scandal and will provide an update in due course.