Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the value of tax incentives to cushion the transition to a no-deal Brexit in financial services should that occur.
Answered by Lord Bates
The Government is committed to pursuing an ambitious and comprehensive economic partnership with the EU. A no deal outcome is neither desired nor expected. However, a responsible government should prepare for all potential outcomes, including the unlikely scenario in which no mutually satisfactory agreement can be reached. Plans are well developed and have been designed to provide the flexibility to respond to a negotiated agreement, as well as preparing for the unlikely eventuality of leaving without a deal.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of re-shaping UK financial services laws and regulations by, for example, removing parts of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II and the Solvency II Directive, with the aim of protecting UK business in the event of a no-deal Brexit in financial services.
Answered by Lord Bates
The Government is committed to pursuing an ambitious and comprehensive economic partnership with the EU. A no deal outcome is neither desired nor expected. However, a responsible government should prepare for all potential outcomes, including the unlikely scenario in which no mutually satisfactory agreement can be reached. Plans are well developed and have been designed to provide the flexibility to respond to a negotiated agreement, as well as preparing for the unlikely eventuality of leaving without a deal.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what legal analysis they have made of the structures that would permit ongoing provision of services from London to EU customers in the event of a no-deal Brexit in financial services.
Answered by Lord Bates
The Government is committed to pursuing an ambitious and comprehensive economic partnership with the EU. A no deal outcome is neither desired nor expected. However, a responsible government should prepare for all potential outcomes, including the unlikely scenario in which no mutually satisfactory agreement can be reached. Plans are well developed and have been designed to provide the flexibility to respond to a negotiated agreement, as well as preparing for the unlikely eventuality of leaving without a deal.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the usefulness of the EU legal concepts of reverse solicitation and indirect clearing arrangements in the event of a no-deal Brexit in financial services.
Answered by Lord Bates
The Government is committed to pursuing an ambitious and comprehensive economic partnership with the EU. A no deal outcome is neither desired nor expected. However, a responsible government should prepare for all potential outcomes, including the unlikely scenario in which no mutually satisfactory agreement can be reached. Plans are well developed and have been designed to provide the flexibility to respond to a negotiated agreement, as well as preparing for the unlikely eventuality of leaving without a deal.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of their liability to continue to contribute towards the pensions of retired EU officials after Brexit; and what is their estimate of the cost of any such liability.
Answered by Lord Bates
Following on from the Prime Minister’s speech in Florence, the Joint report on progress during phase 1 of negotiations under Article 50 TEU on the UK’s orderly withdrawal from the EU lays down the methodology agreed for calculating the financial settlement.
The UK will contribute its share of the financing of the Union’s liabilities incurred before 31 December 2020, including pensions, as they fall due.
The current liability associated with pensions is given in the Annual Accounts of the European Union 2016. As the Joint Report states, this liability has a long time-span and the forecast of its net present value depends on a number of assumptions and is sensitive to, in particular, the real discount rate, which has a historically low value at the time of drafting of the report.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the costs and benefits of agreeing (1) an enhanced equivalence regulation, and (2) a UK–EU bilateral equivalence agreement, as a means of continuing UK–EU collaboration on financial services laws and regulations post-Brexit.
Answered by Lord Bates
The government is committed to leaving the EU in a way that underpins prosperity and avoids unnecessary disruption and dangerous cliff edges for businesses. Ensuring there is regulatory coherence between the UK and EU is key to achieving this. Our ambition is for a new EU-UK relationship where there is a strong shared commitment to regulatory coherence. The details of this new relationship are a matter for the negotiations.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to extend inheritance tax relief to long-term cohabiting and codependent siblings.
Answered by Lord O'Neill of Gatley
The government has no plans to change the inheritance tax treatment of long-term cohabiting and co-dependent siblings.