Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the total value of Russian state assets in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
In conjunction with our partners, we have immobilised approximately $280 billion of the Russian Central Bank’s (CBR) foreign currency reserves globally. The CBR’s assets are not subject to an asset freeze but have been immobilised in the UK as it is prohibited to provide financial services in respect of these assets. HM Treasury is working closely with relevant authorities to map the scale and nature of these assets.
The Government will legislate to require persons to inform HM Treasury if they hold any foreign exchange reserves or assets in the UK on behalf of the Central Bank of Russia, Russian Ministry of Finance or Russian National Wealth Fund.
Separately, the Government has imposed asset freezes against designated persons under the Russia Sanctions regime. Between February and October 2022, £18.39 billion in frozen funds were reported to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) in relation to this regime.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the exposure of UK investors to Chinese government bonds and stocks following the fall of the Hang Seng Index; and what holdings they currently have in the (1) Hong Kong dollar, and (2) Renminbi.
Answered by Baroness Penn
HM Treasury works closely with the UK’s independent financial regulators - including the Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authority to monitor risks to the UK financial system.
The Government does not comment on specific financial market movements. However, the results of the Bank of England's 2021 stress test concluded that the UK banking sector is resilient to a sharp contraction in both China and Hong Kong's economic activity.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics estimate that UK investors owned around £409bn of investment in China and Hong Kong at the end of 2021- or around 3% of the UK’s total investment held overseas. This compares to £4.3tn of investment held in the USA and £4.6tn in the EU.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, in arrangements for the 11th UK–China Economic and Financial Dialogue, what consideration they have given to (1) reports that the Foreign Secretary described events in Xinjiang as a “genocide”, (2) threats to the territorial integrity of Taiwan, and (3) the statement by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in the Six-monthly report on Hong Kong, published on 31 March, that “fundamental parts of the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ framework have been undermined”.
Answered by Baroness Penn
Economic and Financial Dialogues (EFDs) provide an important mechanism for progressing our economic, financial and trade relationships. No date has been agreed for the next UK-China EFD.
We have been clear that we will not hesitate to stand up to China on our values where they are threatened.
The UK has led international efforts at the UN to hold China to account for its human rights violations in Xinjiang. We have imposed sanctions, including asset freezes and travel bans, on senior Chinese officials and taken steps to help ensure that no UK organisations are complicit in these violations through their supply chains. As a co-signatory to the Joint Declaration, we will continue to stand up for the people of Hong Kong, to call out the violation of their freedoms, and to hold China to their international obligations.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to hold the 11th UK–China Economic and Financial Dialogue before the appointment of the next Prime Minister; and if so, what are the reasons for making such arrangements.
Answered by Baroness Penn
The Government has no plans to hold the next 11th UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue before the appointment of the next Prime Minister.
Economic and Financial Dialogues remain an important mechanism for progressing our economic, financial and trade relationships.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the estimated value of Russian assets frozen to date; what further consideration are they giving to other assets that should be subjected to freezing orders; and what is the estimated value of those assets.
Answered by Baroness Penn
Relevant firms are legally obliged to report to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) if they hold frozen assets of a designated person or entity they suspect to be on the list of asset freeze targets. OFSI is currently receiving a high volume of reporting about assets being frozen relating to sanctions imposed since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This information is being collated and assured. Fuller details will be released in due course and will mark a substantial increase on previous assets reported as frozen under Russia sanctions.
With our international allies, we have introduced the largest and most severe economic sanctions that Russia has ever faced. These coordinated sanctions will continue to go deeper, broader and sharper, with a focus on those that can have the biggest impact.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much corporation tax Hikvision paid to the Exchequer in (1) 2021, (2) 2020, (3) 2019, and (4) 2018.
Answered by Baroness Penn
The information requested cannot be provided.
HMRC has a legal duty to maintain the confidentiality of taxpayer information and disclosing information to persons outside of HMRC is only allowed in a limited number of circumstances. These are set out in Section 18 of the Commissioners of Revenue and Customs Act 2005.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Chinese companies have representatives participating in advisory groups convened by HM Treasury; and how many meetings Treasury (1) ministers, and (2) officials, had Chinese companies in the last year.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Ministers and officials meet with a wide range of stakeholders in the course of normal business. Details of all official meetings by ministers are published on www.gov.uk.Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of (1) UK assets and bank accounts owned by officials of the government of Hong Kong, and (2) the UK property market’s exposure to the Evergrande liquidity crisis.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The Government does not comment on the financial positions of individuals.
In its October 2021 record, the Financial Policy Committee of the Bank of England noted that “the interim results of the 2021 Solvency Stress Test indicate that the UK banking system is resilient to the direct effects of a severe downturn in China and Hong Kong, and sharp adjustments in global asset prices”.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of officials of the government of Hong Kong whose families hold UK citizenship; and what plans they have, if any, to audit the UK assets of officials of the governments of (1) Hong Kong, and (2) China.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The Government does not assess the number of officials of the government of Hong Kong whose families hold UK citizenship. The Government does not comment on the financial positions of individuals.Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much was invested by (1) the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme, (2) the NHS Pension Scheme, (3) the Teachers’ Pension Scheme, (4) the Local Government Pension Scheme, (5) the Firefighters’ Pension Scheme, and (6) the Armed Forces Pension Scheme, into (a) Alibaba, (b) Tencent, (c) China Construction Bank, (d) China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, and (e) China National Offshore Oil Corporation, between 2014 and 2020.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The main unfunded public service pension schemes have not invested in any of the mentioned companies.
Most Public Service Pension schemes are unfunded Defined Benefit pension schemes, with the exception of the Local Government Pension Scheme. Members’ pension benefits are set out in statute and there is no fund of assets from which pension benefits are paid. Employer and employee contributions are paid to the relevant public service pension scheme, but these contributions are not invested. Instead, the public service pension scheme uses the contributions to meet the cost of pensions in payment. Where there is a difference between pensions in payment and total contributions, the difference is made up by HMT through Annually Managed Expenditure (AME).
The Local Government Pension Scheme is a funded scheme in which all the assets are owned by the administering authorities, which are responsible for the management of their investments. The data requested is not held centrally.