Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to monitor gambling within video games.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
His Majesty’s Government and the Gambling Commission continue to pay close attention to novel and emergent forms of gambling and gambling-like products, including within video games, to ensure that appropriate regulation is in place.
HM Government has welcomed new, industry-led guidance which aims to address concerns about the use of loot boxes in video games.
Measures to protect players should ensure that the purchase of loot boxes is unavailable to all children and young people unless enabled by a parent or guardian, and that all players have access to, and are aware of, spending controls and transparent information to support safe and responsible gameplay.
The Government has agreed a 12-month implementation period for the new guidance on loot boxes and has asked the industry, co-ordinated by Ukie, to report back to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on the extent to which it has been implemented.
We will continue to keep our position on possible future legislative options under review, informed by academic scrutiny of the industry-led measures. We will provide a further update in due course, following the 12-month implementation period.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they will publish the results of the VAT energy saving materials relief – improving energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions consultation, which ran from 15 March to 31 May 2023.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Spring Budget 2023, the Government published a call for evidence seeking views on potential areas of reform to the current VAT relief on the installation of energy-saving materials (ESMs) in residential accommodation and buildings used solely for a relevant charitable purpose. The response to this call for evidence was published on 11 December and can be found on the Government website.[1]
As set out in that response, in order to qualify for this VAT relief, an ESM must meet a number of criteria, including having a primary purpose of improving energy efficiency and saving carbon emissions. As doors and windows do not meet this criteria, the Government has no plans to extend this VAT relief to these items.
[1] VAT energy-saving materials relief – improving energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to extend the VAT exemptions for energy savings materials to replacement windows and doors.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Spring Budget 2023, the Government published a call for evidence seeking views on potential areas of reform to the current VAT relief on the installation of energy-saving materials (ESMs) in residential accommodation and buildings used solely for a relevant charitable purpose. The response to this call for evidence was published on 11 December and can be found on the Government website.[1]
As set out in that response, in order to qualify for this VAT relief, an ESM must meet a number of criteria, including having a primary purpose of improving energy efficiency and saving carbon emissions. As doors and windows do not meet this criteria, the Government has no plans to extend this VAT relief to these items.
[1] VAT energy-saving materials relief – improving energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of putting the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association on a statutory footing.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The CPA (Commonwealth Parliamentary Association) is a valued partner of the FCDO and we greatly appreciate the important work being done by the organisation and its regional branches across the Commonwealth.
The FCDO is delighted to support the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and International Committee of the Red Cross (Status) Bill which would enable the Government to treat these organisations in a manner comparable to that of an international organisation of which the UK is a member.
The Bill was read a second time on 19 January and will now progress to Committee stage.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they plan to take, if any, against gaming companies that generate transferable loot boxes, or loot box content that can be transferred.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
His Majesty’s Government and the Gambling Commission continue to monitor the convergence of video games and gambling closely. The majority of loot box rewards do not have a monetary value, cannot be cashed out, and are of value only in the context of a given game. They do not therefore meet the definition of gambling as set out in the Gambling Act 2005. All operators providing gambling services to consumers in Britain require a licence from the Gambling Commission. Offering any gambling activity without a licence is an offence. The Gambling Commission has demonstrated that it will take strong regulatory action where video game products do amount to unlicensed gambling, including in instances when the trading of items obtained from loot boxes brings loot box mechanics within the statutory definitions of gambling.
In July 2023, UK Interactive Entertainment published new, industry-led guidance on loot boxes. HM Government welcomes this guidance, which, if fully implemented, has the potential to meet the objectives set out in the Government’s response to our call for evidence on loot boxes, published in July 2022. We have agreed a 12-month implementation period during which we expect the industry to work with players, parents, academics, consumer groups and Government bodies to implement this guidance in full.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they plan to take, if any, to tackle the ability of computer games players to ‘cash out’ loot box prizes through online platforms such as the Steam Community Market.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
His Majesty’s Government and the Gambling Commission continue to monitor the convergence of video games and gambling closely. The majority of loot box rewards do not have a monetary value, cannot be cashed out, and are of value only in the context of a given game. They do not therefore meet the definition of gambling as set out in the Gambling Act 2005. All operators providing gambling services to consumers in Britain require a licence from the Gambling Commission. Offering any gambling activity without a licence is an offence. The Gambling Commission has demonstrated that it will take strong regulatory action where video game products do amount to unlicensed gambling, including in instances when the trading of items obtained from loot boxes brings loot box mechanics within the statutory definitions of gambling.
In July 2023, UK Interactive Entertainment published new, industry-led guidance on loot boxes. HM Government welcomes this guidance, which, if fully implemented, has the potential to meet the objectives set out in the Government’s response to our call for evidence on loot boxes, published in July 2022. We have agreed a 12-month implementation period during which we expect the industry to work with players, parents, academics, consumer groups and Government bodies to implement this guidance in full.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government which energy efficiency measures are included in the "fabric-first approach to decarbonising buildings" set out in the Heat and Buildings Strategy (CP 388).
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Heat and Buildings Strategy is based on a 'fabric first' approach to decarbonising buildings by focusing on upgrading the building fabric before making changes to heating systems, to ensure the transition to low-caron heating is cost-effective and resilient.
Current schemes allow the installation of measures which improve the energy performance of a dwelling within the scope of the “Standard Assessment Procedure” (SAP) – which assesses the energy performance of dwellings. This can include measures such as solid wall insulation, cavity wall insulation, loft insulation, underfloor insulation, draught-proofing, air source heat pumps, ground source heat pumps, high heat retention storage heating, low energy lighting, solar PV, solar thermal and heating controls.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that membership of the Energy Efficiency Taskforce includes representation from all parts of the energy efficiency sector, particularly with regard to insulation.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As part of their work, the Taskforce has established four working groups. These have included insulation experts.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to their consultation VAT energy saving materials relief – improving energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions, which closed on 31 May, what assessment they have made of the benefit of (1) replacement windows, (2) doors, (3) roof lights, and (4) roof windows, being eligible for such relief.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
Following the VAT on energy saving materials call for evidence, HMRC has received a large volume of responses. HMRC and HM Treasury are in the process of analysing the responses and will publish a summary of responses and announce next steps in due course.
It is worth highlighting that, as set out in the call for evidence, this VAT relief is targeted at materials that are installed in residential accommodation primarily for the purposes of improving energy efficiency, and should be a cost effective and practical lever for encouraging installation of any qualifying materials.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Benyon on 24 April (HL7121), what assessment they have made of the emission of (1) greenhouse gasses, and (2) other pollutants, as a result of fires and explosions caused by lithium-ion batteries.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Environment Agency regulates larger industrial installations in England and are not aware of any assessment being made of the emissions from fires of caused by lithium-ion batteries for their regulatory, permitting or incident functions. Currently, Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) are not considered an ‘Installation’ under the ‘Regulatory Guidance Note No. 2 Understanding the meaning of regulated facility’. Therefore, BESS do not require a permit, Risk Management Strategy, or Plan. The Environment Agency is in discussions with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the issue.