Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people who work overseas have opted to pay National Insurance contributions.
Answered by Lord Bates
People who have left the UK to work overseas may be able to pay Class 2 National Insurance contributions (NICs) voluntarily. The most recent estimate is that around 20,000 people working overseas have paid Class 2 NICs voluntarily for the 2015-16 tax year.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, or "Mifid II" rules.
Answered by Lord Bates
The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) II implements commitments made by the G20 in 2009 in light of the financial crisis. The UK achieved its key objectives in negotiations, and the government considers that MiFID II will strengthen investor protection and the transparency of financial markets. The government fully recognises the extensive impact that MiFID II will have on the financial services industry.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the closure of high street branches of the major UK banks, what assessment they have made of the continued availability of access to financial services.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)
The Government is committed to improving access to financial services, across both traditional and digital channels.
Six in ten UK adults aged 16 and over now use internet banking, while the British Bankers’ Association estimates that the use of mobile payments alone increased by 54% between 2014 and 2016. The Government recognises that online and mobile banking brings practical day to day benefits to many consumers.
The Government also recognises the need to support local communities to adapt to changes in the banking landscape, including when bank branches close. In March 2015, the Government helped to broker an industry-wide agreement to work with customers and communities to minimise the impact of bank branch closures and put in place alternative banking services. The Government welcomed Professor Russel Griggs’ recent review of the Protocol and is pleased to see the industry commit to further improvements to protect those affected by closures.
Alternative banking services are also available at the Post Office. As a result of a new agreement with UK banks, announced in January 2017, the Post Office estimates that 99% of personal and 75% of business customers will be able to carry out their day to day banking at more than 11,500 Post Office branches across the UK.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the Fair Tax Mark for businesses.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The Government has recently legislated for the publication of tax strategy by the largest businesses; promoting board accountability for tax, and encouraging transparency on approach to tax planning. In this context, the Government welcomes all business moves to improve transparency over their own tax affairs.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of the International Aid budget is spent by departments other than the Department for International Development, and which are those departments and how much they are spending.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The estimated proportion of Official Development Assistance (ODA) to be spent by Departments other than the Department for International Development based on the Spending Review 2015 settlement is 18% in 2016/17. The other departments spending ODA (including allocations from cross-Government funds) are: the Department of Health; the Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy; the Foreign & Commonwealth Office; the Department for Energy, Food & Rural Affairs; HM Revenue & Customs; HM Treasury; the Office of National Statistics; the Department for Education; the Department for Work and Pensions; Department for Culture, Media & Sport; the Ministry of Defence; the Department for Transport; and the Home Office.
Outturn figures are not yet available, but a detailed breakdown of the 2016 ODA spend by department will be published in April 2017.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the procedures and priorities to agree the spending of public money on international aid are the same across all government departments, and if there are differences, what they are.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The allocation of Official Development Assistance (ODA) funding was agreed at the 2015 Spending Review in line with the strategic objectives set out in the UK aid strategy. Departments spending ODA are required to demonstrate how they are using rigorous evidence to underpin spending decisions. There must be clear lines of accountability for all ODA projects, and project performance must be regularly assessed. Poor performing programmes will be closed and funds redeployed. In addition, all ODA spend is subject to scrutiny by the Independent Commission for Aid Impact.
Spending on ODA is also subject to the principles of sound financial management set out in ‘Managing Public Money’. Within these constraints departments have discretion over how they organise, direct and manage the resources at their disposal.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that tunnelling engineering skills in the UK are not lost.
Answered by Lord O'Neill of Gatley
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In 2012, the Government published “Tunnelling: A Capability Analysis” which identified the tunnelling skills essential to deliver key projects, including Crossrail, HS2 and the Thames Tideway Tunnel.
To help meet this demand and maintain the UK’s skills base, the National Construction College delivers training at a purpose-built facility: the Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy in East London.
In September, the Government published the National Infrastructure Plan for Skills, to ensure the UK has the right skills base to deliver and maintain world-class infrastructure. This report sets out the scale of the challenge and is just the first step. The Government is now consulting with stakeholders across industry, academia and training providers to build a series of detailed actions to address the skills challenge.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the current account deficit in trade.
Answered by Lord O'Neill of Gatley
The current account deficit was 5.1 per cent of GDP in 2014. The trade balance has been broadly stable, while the UK’s net investment income has fallen, as weakness in the euro area has depressed the returns on the UK’s holding of foreign direct investment. Figures for Q2 2015 show that the deficit has narrowed, driven by an improvement in the trade and investment income balances. The Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts a narrowing of the current account deficit over the forecast period.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what systems are in place to assess and evaluate the new pension freedoms.
Answered by Lord O'Neill of Gatley
As part of their Retirement Income Market Study, the Financial Conduct Authority have committed to monitoring the retirement market in order to assess consumer behaviour and outcomes; and to use their wide-ranging powers to intervene where necessary. The Treasury will also be consulting in July to ensure that people are treated fairly when moving their pension to a company that offers them flexible options and are not charged excessive early exit penalties.