Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many UK civil servants, and of what grade, who work in units, directorates or sub-departments within the Treasury are charged with EU policy formulation, advising on EU policy or enforcing EU policy.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
Staff within the longstanding International and EU group lead on providing advice to Ministers on EU and EU related issues.
Staff within other groups throughout the Treasury also provide advice or analysis on EU issues as required, including policy formulation and enforcement.
HM Treasury do not routinely capture information about each employee’s specific work. Given the interactions between EU policy and other work, it would not be possible to give an accurate figure.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the criticisms in the report published on 8 July by the Independent Evaluation Office of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), <i>The IMF and the Crises in Greece, Ireland, and Portugal</i>, what value they now place on the IMF's forecasts and policy statements.
Answered by Lord O'Neill of Gatley
The government continues to value the IMF’s forecasts and other analytical outputs, which are supported by high quality technical analysis and data-gathering. This is used alongside the government’s own analysis, and the work of other institutions. We do not believe that the International Evaluation Office’s (IEO) report entitled The IMF and the Crises in Greece, Ireland and Portugal provides compelling evidence to alter this practice.
The government values the work of the IEO, which is important in improving transparency, oversight and enhancing the learning culture at the Fund.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the report published on 8 July by the Independent Evaluation Office of the International Monetary Fund, <i>The IMF and the crises in Greece, Ireland, and Portugal</i>.
Answered by Lord O'Neill of Gatley
The IMF Executive Board discussed the report entitled The IMF and the crises in Greece, Ireland, and Portugal on 19 July 2016. The UK plays an active part in such dialogues. While we welcome the report, board discussions remain confidential until the minutes are made accessible three years after the meeting. The Chairman’s summing up, and the statement by the IMF Managing Director offering a response to the report’s recommendations, offer more information. They can be found on the Independent Evaluation Office’s (IEO) website.
As the body which provides objective and independent evaluation on IMF issues, the work of the IEO is important in improving transparency, oversight and enhancing the learning culture at the Fund.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many International Monetary Fund (IMF) reports have, since 2006, (1) commented on the state of the UK economy; (2) commented on the state of the UK economy and have been shown to be erroneous; and (3) made comments on the state of the UK economy that the IMF have had to revise or retract due to the inaccuracy of the forecast.
Answered by Lord O'Neill of Gatley
The information requested in relation to the evaluation of comments and forecasts about the UK could only be provided at disproportionate cost. However, the Independent Evaluation Office of the IMF produce a report evaluating the forecasts of the organisation and the most recent one was published in 2014.
The UK economy is assessed by the IMF on an annual basis as part of the Article IV process. The IMF also produce quarterly forecasts for the UK economy in their World Economic Outlook (WEO) reports and WEO Updates.
Article IV reports and World Economic Outlooks and Updates are readily available on the IMF website and include recent revisions to forecasts.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have plans to implement the suggested changes to the Tata pensioners pension fund to all public sector pensions.
Answered by Lord O'Neill of Gatley
In response to proposals put forward by the British Steel Pension Scheme and supported by Tata Steel UK, the Government is consulting on options to enable a potential restructuring of the British Steel Pension Scheme to deliver a scheme that is sustainable and provides clarity and security to scheme members. The consultation closes on 23 June 2016.
In the last Parliament the Government took action to secure the long term sustainability of public service pensions, by changing the indexation of pensions in payment to the Consumer Prices Index, increasing member contributions by 3.2 percentage points on average, and introducing new career average pensions schemes with higher normal pension ages and a cost control mechanism.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment, if any, they have made of the economic analysis in the report <i>A Blueprint for Britain: Openness not Isolation</i>.
Answered by Lord O'Neill of Gatley
In order to inform policy making, the government reviews and notes the wider evidence on key international economic questions on an ongoing basis.
The Government has a clear mandate to improve Britain’s relationship with the rest of the EU, and to reform the EU so that it creates jobs and increases living standards for all its citizens.
The Prime Minister has started to discuss his plans for EU reform and renegotiation with other EU leaders. He has been clear that the plans involve reforming welfare and immigration rules, increasing economic competitiveness and cutting red tape to create jobs and growth for hard working families, and protecting Britain's interests outside the euro.
It also means halting the constant flow of powers to Brussels including by ensuring a stronger role for national Parliaments. The Government will hold an in/out referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU by the end of 2017.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of how many people who work 37.5 hours per week or more (1) receive benefits and (2) would receive benefits if the minimum wage were increased to the living wage.
Answered by Lord O'Neill of Gatley
HM Revenue and Customs does not hold the information requested.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the decision by the European Council not to produce a coin commemorating the battle of Waterloo, whether they will instruct the Royal Mint to strike a special £1 coin to celebrate this British victory.
Answered by Lord Deighton
Every year, The Royal Mint issues a series of coins to mark anniversaries that reflect British history, traditions and identity. In 2015, it commemorates the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo with a UK £5 coin. The design is an interpretation of the famous painting by Daniel Maclise, which depicts the meeting of the Duke of Wellington and Blucher after the Battle of Waterloo, and which still hangs in the House of Lords today.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the latest revised forecast by the International Monetary Fund for the British economy, whether the Chancellor of the Exchequer still has confidence in its forecasting.
Answered by Lord Deighton
Britain’s long term economic plan is working, boosting economic security for Britain’s hardworking people. The economy is growing, the deficit has fallen by a third and there are record levels of people in work. But the job is not done and the biggest risk now to the recovery would be abandoning the plan that is delivering a brighter economic future.
The Government’s strategy is to restore the public finances to a sustainable path and the UK is seen as a relative safe haven, with interest rates remaining historically low helping keep interest payments down for households, businesses and the taxpayer.
The IMF set out their latest forecasts in the October 2014 World Economic Outlook. The publication recognises the Government’s long term economic plan is working, that the UK is growing and leaving the crisis behind. The IMF project the UK economy to be the fastest growing G7 economy in 2014, at 3.2 per cent and 2.7 per cent in 2015. Furthermore, the IMF recognise that fiscal consolidation undertaken during the past few years has built trust among financial investors that current fiscal paths are sustainable.