Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will provide additional resources to the England Illegal Money Lending Team to tackle the threat of illegal money lending.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
The Government recognises the dangers of illegal money lending, and that is why the Treasury funds the Illegal Money Lending Teams (IMLTs) across the UK via an industry levy collected by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Since taking over funding of the IMLTs in 2017, the Treasury has increased their annual funding by 37%. For the 2022/23 financial year, the Treasury increased funding for the England Illegal Money Lending Team by over 6% compared to 2021/22.
HMT officials regularly meet the IMLTs to understand the latest intelligence and monitor how funding is being deployed. These discussions will inform decisions about the appropriate levels of funding for the next financial year.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 23 April 2021 to Question 180919 on Bitcoin: electricity, what his planned timescale is for providing a common definition for environmentally sustainable economy activities for (a) Bitcoin and (b) other crypto-currencies.
Answered by John Glen
The Cryptoasset Taskforce, comprising HM Treasury, the Financial Conduct Authority, and the Bank of England, considers the impact of cryptoassets and assesses what, if any, regulation is required in response. The Government stands ready to respond to emerging risks or changes in the market and will continue to monitor developments in cryptoassets.
In November 2020, the Chancellor announced that the UK will implement a green taxonomy – a common framework for determining which activities can be defined as environmentally sustainable – which will improve understanding of the impact of firms’ activities and investments on the environment and support our transition to a sustainable economy. More details on the green taxonomy will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the environmental impact of the electricity demand of bitcoin mining will be on the COP26 agenda.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - Leader of HM Official Opposition
The Government’s private finance objective for the upcoming COP26 climate change forum is to ensure that every professional financial decision takes climate change into account. The recovery from COVID-19 will determine the mitigation and adaptation pathways for decades to come.
The finance campaign will provide the conditions for a future that is genuinely greener, more resilient and more sustainable than the past. Action on finance underpins all the other COP campaigns: adaptation and resilience, energy transition, nature and zero-emission vehicles. Without the right levels of finance, the rest is not possible.
The Government has already taken action to ensure the UK is the world-leading centre for green finance including through announcing an intention to make disclosures aligned with the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) fully mandatory across the economy by 2025, making the UK the first country to do so.
Additionally, the Government has committed to the implementation of a green taxonomy. This will allow us to accelerate our work towards a greener financial sector, by providing a common definition for environmentally sustainable economy activities.
The Cryptoasset Taskforce, comprising HM Treasury, the Financial Conduct Authority, and the Bank of England, considers the impact of cryptoassets and assesses what, if any, regulation is required in response. The Government stands ready to respond to emerging risks or changes in the market and will continue to monitor developments in cryptoassets.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what environmental impact assessment his Department has made of the electricity demand of Bitcoin mining.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - Leader of HM Official Opposition
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given on 14 April.