Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their policy on whether members of the House of Lords who vote against the Government may continue to act as members of the Board of the National Infrastructure Commission.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)
The responsibilities of Commissioners on the National Infrastructure Commission are set out in their Framework Document [[1]]. These include complying with the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public bodies [[2]]. The Framework Document does not include specific guidance on political activity.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guidance is provided on the insertion of Crown savings clauses into government bills; and whether their insertion is determined by individual departments.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)
The Office of Parliamentary Counsel (OPC) has published a series of guides, one of which is on Crown Application. This is publicly available and can be found on GOV.UK under ‘publications by the Office of Parliamentary Counsel’.
Individual departments instruct the OPC on the drafting of Bills for which they have policy and handling responsibility, but there is a central process by which the content and drafting of Bills is collectively agreed. Guidance on the legislative process and an explanation of taking a Bill through Parliament can also be found on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the total amount of European Structural Investment Funds payments they have received since 2009.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)
European Structural and Investment Funds make up the second largest proportion of UK public sector receipts from the EU. The European finances document for 2015 table C.3[1] sets out the United Kingdom’s public sector receipts from the EU Budget including European Structural Investment Funds.
[1]https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/483344/EU_finances_2015_final_web_09122015.pdf
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will reimburse local authorities and other UK recipients of payments from the European Structural and Investment Funds for any costs associated with requirements to reimburse the European Commission resulting from (1) ex-post evaluations of the current programming period, or (2) Brexit.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)
The Chancellor confirmed that the government will guarantee EU funding for structural and investment fund projects, including agri-environment schemes, signed after the Autumn Statement and which continue after we have left the EU. Any form of ex-post evaluation, to the extent it falls post-exit, will be addressed as part of the negotiations in the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 5 January (HL4266), which members of the Royal Family are in receipt of travel costs for undertaking official engagements.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)
The Sovereign Grant Annual Report and Accounts 2015-16 states that 3,000 official engagements were undertaken across the United Kingdom and overseas by members of the Royal Family during the year to 31 March 2016. In addition to The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh, members of the Royal Family undertaking Royal Travel during this period were The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Henry of Wales, The Duke of York, The Earl and Countess of Wessex, The Princess Royal, The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, The Duke of Kent, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent and Princess Alexandra.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which members of the Royal Family are in receipt of the Sovereign Grant; and whether they have any plans to extend the provision of the Grant to (1) Princess Beatrice, and (2) Princess Eugenie.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)
The Sovereign Grant supports the Monarch’s official business, enabling The Queen to discharge her duties as Head of State. It meets the central staff costs and running expenses of Her Majesty’s official household. It also covers maintenance of the Royal Palaces in England and the cost of travel undertaken by Members of the Royal Family to carry out official engagements.
Together, Members of the Royal Family complete over 3,000 engagements a year across the UK - many more than The Queen could undertake alone.
There are no plans to extend the Grant to other Members of the Royal Family in their own right.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which raising of funds by Thames Water with a Cayman Islands registered company to finance the Thames Tideway Tunnel and ongoing expenditure complies with government policies on tax avoidance and the use of offshore havens by UK corporations.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The Government is unable to comment on the tax affairs of individual companies.
The Government has always been clear that companies must pay the right amount of tax on their UK activities. HM Revenue and Customs works to ensure that all taxpayers comply with their obligations under the UK’s tax code and pay the right amount of tax. The UK levies corporation tax on the basis of the profits generated by the economic activity and assets held in the UK, regardless of the location of the company’s legal structure. The Government has taken action – both internationally and domestically – to align the taxation of profits with economic activity.
In line with this objective, the Government confirmed at Autumn Statement 2016 that the UK will proceed with a measure to cap the amount of tax relief that large businesses can claim for their interest expense at 30% of UK earnings, effective from 1 April 2017. The new corporate interest restriction rules are consistent with the internationally agreed OECD recommendations from the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project. The rules will include provisions to protect investment in infrastructure that have a public benefit and do not give rise to a BEPS risk.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of their current initiatives on the use of tax havens and issues about the use of off-shore companies, what assessment they have made of the use by Thames Water of a Cayman Islands company to raise over £5 billion of debt, and of Thames Water being owned and controlled from Luxembourg.
Answered by Lord O'Neill of Gatley
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not disclose details of its work on the affairs of particular taxpayers.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what the roles and responsibilities of the National Infrastructure Commission and Infrastructure UK are, to whom they report, and what overlaps there are between them, if any.
Answered by Lord O'Neill of Gatley
The National Infrastructure Commission is an independent advisory body, currently operating on an interim basis. It will deliver a long-term plan and assessment of national infrastructure needs and publish advice on specific infrastructure issues. The Commission reports to the Chancellor.
Infrastructure UK is a specialist unit within the Treasury that works on the UK’s long-term infrastructure priorities and secures private sector investment. It provides commercial support for infrastructure projects, administers the UK Guarantee Scheme, and reviews and refines the way that Public Private Partnerships are run in the UK. Infrastructure UK reports to the Commercial Secretary to the Treasury and to the Treasury Permanent Secretary.