Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the transparency standards of the governance and financial reporting arrangements of the City of London Corporation compared to that of other local authorities.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Common Council of the City of London, in its capacity as a local authority, is required to adhere to the publication requirements of the Local Government Transparency Code 2015, along with all other local authorities as defined in paragraph 14 of the Transparency Code. The Transparency Code requires local authorities to publish details of financial transactions such as all spend over £500 and procurements over £5000, and assets held such as land and housing. It does not contain requirements relating to any specialist commercial activity conducted by the City of London Corporation. The government does not monitor compliance with the requirements of the Transparency Code, as the intention of the legislation is that local voters will hold local authorities to account for their performance.

The Common Council of the City of London is also required to produce an annual Statement of Accounts in accordance with proper practices as set out in statute and the Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting in the United Kingdom, published by CIPFA. The Statement of Accounts must meet the requirements of reporting set out in the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014. Authorities are responsible for ensuring that their financial reporting meets the required standards, however, Government expects authorities to demonstrate best practice in transparency.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Prime Minister has met the City Remembrancer Paul Wright; and if so, on how many occasions.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Details of ministerial meetings are published on gov.uk as part of the government’s transparency publications.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to consolidating the anti-money laundering supervisory responsibilities of professional body supervisors under a statutory regulator, such as the Financial Conduct Authority.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Chancellor announced in October that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will become the Anti-Money Laundering/Counter Terrorist Financing (AML/CTF) supervisor for professional services firms, simplifying the current complex model. The FCA are currently working on the implementation of this new supervisory framework and HM Treasury will announce next steps shortly.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Chancellor has met the City Remembrancer Paul Wright; and if so, on how many occasions.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Chancellor has not held or attended any meetings with the City Remembrancer Paul Wright.

The Chancellor and City Remembrancer are likely to have attended a number of the same events, relevant to their respective roles.