Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings, including those produced as part of another financial service or activity, will be regulated consistently by the FCA, to ensure that investors receive transparent and high-quality ESG ratings.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has introduced regulations to bring the provision of Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) ratings into the FCA’s regulatory responsibility. This will strengthen market integrity and boost investor confidence.
Recognising that ESG ratings are provided by a range of different persons, the scope of the regulated activity is designed to be proportionate to the risk of harm, and to avoid dual regulation. In line with this approach, where firms are providing ESG ratings solely as part of another activity for which they are already regulated, they are excluded from the ESG ratings regulations.
The FCA is consulting on draft rules for ESG ratings providers. As part of this process, the FCA will carefully assess whether existing frameworks for regulated products and services adequately address risks of harm where ESG ratings are provided as part of those activities. If the FCA identifies significant gaps, they will consult on changes to enhance those regimes. This approach is designed to minimise burdens on firms whilst consistently addressing risks of harm from all providers, regardless of their business model or regulatory status.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings are regulated consistently, regardless of the business model or regulatory status of the provider.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has introduced regulations to bring the provision of Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) ratings into the FCA’s regulatory responsibility. This will strengthen market integrity and boost investor confidence.
Recognising that ESG ratings are provided by a range of different persons, the scope of the regulated activity is designed to be proportionate to the risk of harm, and to avoid dual regulation. In line with this approach, where firms are providing ESG ratings solely as part of another activity for which they are already regulated, they are excluded from the ESG ratings regulations.
The FCA is consulting on draft rules for ESG ratings providers. As part of this process, the FCA will carefully assess whether existing frameworks for regulated products and services adequately address risks of harm where ESG ratings are provided as part of those activities. If the FCA identifies significant gaps, they will consult on changes to enhance those regimes. This approach is designed to minimise burdens on firms whilst consistently addressing risks of harm from all providers, regardless of their business model or regulatory status.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government who will be responsible for collecting the new ‘tourist tax’ on overnight stays in England and how revenue through the tax will be distributed.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The power is for Mayors, and potentially other local leaders, to introduce a visitor levy to raise revenue to drive growth and invest in their areas. The precise design and scope of the power is still under development. The Government has published a consultation which will run until 18 February 2026, to ensure that the public, businesses, and local government can shape the design of the power, including the administration process.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for granting tax relief for grassroots music venues to grant them parity with theatres, orchestras and other cultural institutions.
Answered by Baroness Penn
The Government recognises the value of the UK’s world leading creative industries and arts sectors.
The objective of the creative industry tax reliefs is to support and incentivise production rather than to support venues themselves.
The Government keeps all tax policy under review and regularly receives proposals for new tax reliefs. When considering a new tax relief, the Government must ensure it supports businesses in a fair way and that taxpayer money is effectively targeted. A tax relief for grassroots music venues is not currently under consideration.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to publish a cost-benefit financial assessment of the impact of reduced Official Development Assistance funding for research and development over the next five years.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
In the context of unprecedented economic and fiscal circumstances, the Government decided at the 2020 Spending Review that sticking rigidly to spending 0.7% of gross national income as Official Development Assistance (ODA) was not an appropriate prioritisation of resources.
The 2020 Spending Review and subsequent review of departmental ODA allocations conducted by the Foreign Secretary confirmed departmental ODA allocations for the financial year 2020-21. This has ensured that UK ODA is focused on our strategic priorities, spent where it will have the maximum impact, has greater coherence and delivers most value for money.
As a consequence of this prioritisation, ODA funding for research and development (R&D) over 2021-22 has been reduced from previous years. However, the Government invested nearly £15 billion in overall R&D in 2021-22 at the 2020 Spending Review. This follows four years of significant growth in government R&D funding and boost of more than £1.5bn in 2020-21 alone.
Decisions have not yet been made on the ODA budget over the following years. The Government remains committed to international development and intends to return to the 0.7% target when the fiscal situation allows.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to prevent essential small and medium sized enterprises failing; and what level of priority they have given to preventing unnecessary business failures due to cash flow issues.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The government has set out an unprecedented package of support for all businesses affected by this crisis. All businesses, including SMEs, will benefit from the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, Statutory Sick Pay refunds and the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme alongside tax cuts and direct grants. Further detail of the business support package can be found at: www.businesssupport.gov.uk and more information on claiming for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with insurers and the Association of British Insurers about (1) the current, and (2) the future, levels of insurance required to prevent small and medium sized enterprises from becoming bankrupt as a result of COVID-19.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The Government is in continual dialogue with the insurance sector about its contribution to handling this unprecedented situation.
In addition, the Chancellor has made clear that, for those businesses which have an appropriate policy that covers pandemics, the Government’s medical advice of 16th March is sufficient to allow businesses to make a claim against their insurance, provided the other terms and conditions in their policy are met.
The FCA’s rules require insurers to handle claims fairly and promptly; provide reasonable guidance to help a policyholder make a claim, and appropriate information on its progress; not reject a claim unreasonably; and settle claims promptly once settlement terms are agreed.
However, most businesses have not purchased insurance that covers losses from COVID-19. The Government recognises that businesses who do not have appropriate insurance cover will require support from elsewhere. As such, businesses should explore the full package of support set out by the Chancellor in the Budget and on 17 March, which includes measures such as business rates holidays and the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme.
The Chancellor has announced two packages to support the people and businesses of the UK: a three-point plan providing £12 billion of support for public services, individuals and businesses whose finances are affected by the outbreak; and a package to provide further support for businesses and individuals totalling £350bn.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to their wish to avoid a role for the Court of Justice of the EU in resolving future disputes between the UK and the EU, what form of dispute resolution they would accept if the UK is to continue participating in the Horizon Europe and Erasmus+ programmes.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The Public Mandate states that the UK is ready to consider participation in certain EU programmes where it is in the UK's and the EU’s interest that the UK does so. The UK will consider a relationship in line with non-EU Member State participation for the following programmes: Horizon Europe, Euratom Research and Training, and Copernicus. The UK will consider service access agreements for the following programmes: EU Space Surveillance and Tracking, and the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service.
Existing agreements on programmes between the EU and third countries establish dispute resolution mechanisms that do not include recourse to the ECJ.
The UK’s priority in negotiations is to ensure that the UK restores its economic and political independence on 1 January 2021. That is the Government’s primary objective. Any agreement must be consistent with this. The UK must have full control over its own laws and the Government will not accept demands for the UK to follow EU law or accept the judgements of the ECJ.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether officials have visited the Sweden–Norway border to discuss with the governments of Sweden and Norway the impact of border arrangements on the passage and monitoring of goods across that border; and what conclusions they have drawn from their enquiries.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
HM Revenue & Customs and HM Treasury officials visited the Sweden-Norway border in 2017, where border arrangements were discussed with Norwegian officials at a working level. The visit offered greater understanding of how the Norwegian facilitative regime operates outside of the customs union.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of what the cost to the UK Government of leaving the European Union will be in each year until 2039.
Answered by Lord Bates
The Government has today laid before Parliament a Written Ministerial Statement entitled “Exiting the European Union – publications” and published cross-Whitehall analysis of the economic and fiscal effects of leaving the EU. The fiscal impacts are available on p. 71-76 of this document, “EU Exit: Long-term economic analysis, November 2018”, which is available on Gov.uk and from the Printed Paper Office.