Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are seeking to retain euro clearing in the UK after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)
Euro-denominated clearing forms an important part of the overall financial structure in London.
The Government will continue to consult with stakeholders and do what it takes to ensure that the UK remains at the forefront of the financial industry.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are taking steps to put in place transitional measures for the UK's financial services to cover the time between the UK leaving the EU and the implementation of the UK's exit agreement.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)
As the Prime Minister has said, it is in no one’s interests for there to be a cliff-edge for business or a threat to stability as we change from our existing relationship to a new partnership with the EU.
The Prime Minister set out the government’s ambition to reach an agreement about our future partnership by the time the 2 year Article 50 process is concluded, followed by a phased process of implementation, in which both Britain and the EU institutions and member states prepare for the new arrangements that will exist between us.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions are taking place with the UK financial services industry as to how they would adapt to the WTO General Agreement on Trade and Services should this be necessary.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)
The UK’s financial services industry plays a vital role in the UK, European and global economies, which benefits customers and businesses around the world.
Government ministers have met with a full range of institutions from across our financial services sector. This includes bilateral meetings with firms and regulators, as well as roundtables with groups of industry representatives.
These meetings have enabled the Government to fully understand the opportunities and risks which have been identified by the sector as the UK leaves the EU, and has included discussion with firms about different scenarios.
We are determined to secure the best possible deal for UK goods and services – including financial services - in our negotiations to leave the EU.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions are taking place with the financial services industry and regulators on the UK's future negotiations with the EU on retaining passporting or on potential alternatives under WTO–GATS post UK withdrawal from the EU.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)
The UK’s financial services industry plays a vital role in the UK, European and global economies, which benefits customers and businesses around the world.
Government ministers have met with a full range of institutions from across our financial services sector. This includes bilateral meetings with firms and regulators, as well as roundtables with groups of industry representatives.
These meetings have enabled the Government to fully understand the opportunities and risks which have been identified by the sector as the UK leaves the EU, and has included discussion with firms about different scenarios.
We are determined to secure the best possible deal for UK goods and services – including financial services - in our negotiations to leave the EU.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the regulatory impact of the Financial Conduct Authority authorisation of insolvency practitioners.
Answered by Lord O'Neill of Gatley
The government consulted extensively on its reforms to the consumer credit market prior to the transfer of regulation from the Office of Fair Trading to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in April 2014. The result of that consultation included the exclusion for insolvency practitioners when acting in reasonable contemplation of being appointed as an insolvency practitioner (IP).
It remains the government’s view that when an insolvency practitioner is no longer acting in reasonable contemplation of being appointed as an IP, they must be authorised by the FCA if they wish to continue providing debt advice. There are no immediate plans to review this exclusion. However, the government does maintain an interest in the impact of regulation on the debt advice market.
The FCA is thoroughly assessing every debt management firm’s fitness to trade as part of the authorisation process. The size of the debt advice market will not be known until this process is complete. The government will stay in contact with the FCA throughout the authorisation process to monitor the impact on customer journeys and capacity.
For IPs concerned about the potential burden of FCA authorisation, the FCA has been clear that it takes a proportionate approach to setting fees. This includes imposing tiered fees based on the income a firm generates from its credit activities, ensuring that the smallest firms pay the lowest fees. There also remain other options for smaller firms to consider, including the appointed representative regime.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the Financial Conduct Authority authorisation of insolvency practitioners on the size of the debt advice market.
Answered by Lord O'Neill of Gatley
The government consulted extensively on its reforms to the consumer credit market prior to the transfer of regulation from the Office of Fair Trading to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in April 2014. The result of that consultation included the exclusion for insolvency practitioners when acting in reasonable contemplation of being appointed as an insolvency practitioner (IP).
It remains the government’s view that when an insolvency practitioner is no longer acting in reasonable contemplation of being appointed as an IP, they must be authorised by the FCA if they wish to continue providing debt advice. There are no immediate plans to review this exclusion. However, the government does maintain an interest in the impact of regulation on the debt advice market.
The FCA is thoroughly assessing every debt management firm’s fitness to trade as part of the authorisation process. The size of the debt advice market will not be known until this process is complete. The government will stay in contact with the FCA throughout the authorisation process to monitor the impact on customer journeys and capacity.
For IPs concerned about the potential burden of FCA authorisation, the FCA has been clear that it takes a proportionate approach to setting fees. This includes imposing tiered fees based on the income a firm generates from its credit activities, ensuring that the smallest firms pay the lowest fees. There also remain other options for smaller firms to consider, including the appointed representative regime.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to review the Financial Conduct Authority authorisation exemption for insolvency practitioners.
Answered by Lord O'Neill of Gatley
The government consulted extensively on its reforms to the consumer credit market prior to the transfer of regulation from the Office of Fair Trading to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in April 2014. The result of that consultation included the exclusion for insolvency practitioners when acting in reasonable contemplation of being appointed as an insolvency practitioner (IP).
It remains the government’s view that when an insolvency practitioner is no longer acting in reasonable contemplation of being appointed as an IP, they must be authorised by the FCA if they wish to continue providing debt advice. There are no immediate plans to review this exclusion. However, the government does maintain an interest in the impact of regulation on the debt advice market.
The FCA is thoroughly assessing every debt management firm’s fitness to trade as part of the authorisation process. The size of the debt advice market will not be known until this process is complete. The government will stay in contact with the FCA throughout the authorisation process to monitor the impact on customer journeys and capacity.
For IPs concerned about the potential burden of FCA authorisation, the FCA has been clear that it takes a proportionate approach to setting fees. This includes imposing tiered fees based on the income a firm generates from its credit activities, ensuring that the smallest firms pay the lowest fees. There also remain other options for smaller firms to consider, including the appointed representative regime.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the health impact, in terms of hospitalisations and deaths, of ending the alcohol duty escalator.
Answered by Lord O'Neill of Gatley
The Government published its assessment of the impacts of changes to alcohol duties in the Tax Information and Impact Notes alongside the Budget document in 2013 and 2014. This information is available on the gov.uk website.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the Institute of Fiscal Studies' recent argument in favour of "reforming cider duties so that they are no longer extremely low for strong products", set out in the <i>IFS Green Budget: February 2016</i>, what action HM Treasury intends to take on strong, cheap cider.
Answered by Lord O'Neill of Gatley
The government amended the definition of cider, reducing the scope to products with a minimum of 35% apple or pear juice, to tackle the cheapest ciders. The government has since created 20 Local Alcohol Action Areas with the aim of reducing alcohol health and crime harms by encouraging partnerships between industry, local agencies and the voluntary sector.
The government is also helping tackle irresponsible alcohol consumption. For example, Local Councils have been given the ability to collect a Late Night Levy from alcohol retailers to contribute towards the cost of policing.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will review the Financial Conduct Authority's oversight of anti-money-laundering regulations in the light of consumer complaints about enforced, unannounced and unexplained closures of bank accounts.
Answered by Lord O'Neill of Gatley
The Government encourages banks to take a risk based approach in its activities to ensure that measures they take are effective, proportionate and mitigate the risks that they face. In doing so the Government also encourages them to have due regard to financial inclusion.
Whilst it would be inappropriate for the Government to intervene in these decisions, individuals are able to request a review of the decision to close their bank account using the bank’s formal complaint procedure and the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).