To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what powers (a) his Department and (b) each of its agencies and non-departmental public bodies has to impose administrative penalties; what the statutory basis is for each such powers; and how much (i) his Department and its predecessors and (ii) each of its agencies and non-departmental public bodies has recovered in administrative penalties in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available. (309294)

The information requested is not held centrally within the Department and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Letters from the executive agencies follow.

Letter from Stephen Speed, dated 21 December 2009:

The Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has asked me to reply to your question what powers (a) his Department and its predecessors and (b) each of its agencies and non-departmental public bodies has to impose administrative penalties; what the statutory basis is for each such powers; and how much (i) his Department and its predecessors and (ii) each of its agencies and non-departmental public bodies has recovered in administrative penalties in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

The Insolvency Service does not hold power to impose any administrative penalties.

Letter from Sean Dennehey, dated 21 December 2009:

I am responding in respect of the Intellectual Property Office to your Parliamentary Question tabled 16 December 2009, to the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

The Intellectual Property Office does not levy administrative financial penalties.

Letter from Peter Mason, dated 15 January 2010:

I am responding in respect of the National Measurement Office to your Parliamentary Question tabled on 16 December 2009, to the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills concerning powers to impose administrative penalties.

The powers which this Agency exercises, relating to the regulation of legal weights and measures used in trade and the enforcement of various European Directives, do not currently extend to imposing administrative penalties.

Letter from Gareth Jones, dated 25 January 2010:

I am replying on behalf of Companies House to your Parliamentary Question tabled 16 December 2009, UIN 309294, to the Minister of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Companies House has responsibility for two types of administrative penalties.

Section 27 of the Companies Act 2006 provides the Registrar with the power to impose a civil penalty on a company for failure to comply with a notice to file a copy of the company's articles, or a document making or evidencing an alteration to the company's articles. This new section came into force in October 2009 and no penalties have yet been recovered.

Section 453 of the Companies Act 2006 (formerly section 242A of the Companies Act 1985) imposes civil penalties on companies that file their annual accounts after the due date. The Registrar of Companies has a duty to collect the penalties that have been imposed under this section of the Act. The amounts recovered in penalties for each of the last ten years are as follows:

All receipts are remitted to the consolidated fund. They are not retained by Companies House or the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.