Asked by: Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the letter from Baroness Penn to Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts on 22 August 2023, when they expect to publish the interim report on the review of treatment of Politically Exposed Persons by financial institutions.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 committed the Financial Conduct Authority to conduct, and publish the conclusions of, a review into how financial institutions are following its guidance on politically exposed persons (PEPs) by the end of June 2024. As set out in the Written Statement on the treatment of PEPs published on 14 December 2023, given the strength of concern on this issue, the Government expects that the FCA will prioritise this review over the coming months.
Asked by: Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans, if any, they have to permit fractionated shares to be held in ISAs.
Answered by Baroness Penn
HMRC’s long standing view on interpretation of the current law is that a fraction of a share is not a share for the purposes of the ISA legislation.
The government is committed to ensuring the ISA the market works for both industry and consumers. We are aware of representations from the industry to allow fractional shares to be included in ISAs going forward, and are considering the issue.
Asked by: Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the value of VAT relief given under the Listed Places of Worship Scheme in each of the past two financial years.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport)
The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme (LPWGS) was established in 2001 to provide grants towards VAT paid on repairs and maintenance to the nation's listed churches and cathedrals. The scheme, which presently handles around 7000 claims per annum, applies to all faiths and denominations and is delivered UK wide. It is currently funded through a combination of £17 million from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s core baseline, together with £25 million available from HMT reserves (so a total of up to £42m total each financial year).
Historically, the scheme has operated with an underspend each year. However, efforts are underway to reduce underspend, including via a new LPWGS website and comms outreach campaign. Initial data since the launch of the website in July 2023 suggests a gradual increase in uptake and grants being made.
The LPWGS website provides details of the annual spend of the scheme, but does not provide details of previous years’ allocations. See here: https://listed-places-of-worship-grant.dcms.gov.uk/about-us/.
Asked by: Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to amend the present ability to reclaim VAT under the Listed Places of Worship Scheme.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport)
Listed places of worship represent some of the nation's finest heritage, and HM Government recognises the need to preserve and maintain such hallowed buildings. The Listed Place of Worship Grant Scheme aims to mitigate the cost of doing so and to support listed and protected buildings for the benefit of present and future generations.
There are presently no plans to amend the eligibility criteria for the scheme, but we keep them under review. We have also been working to ensure that the accessibility and uptake of the scheme is improved, particularly through the development of a new website and application process. Officials maintain regular contact with key people and organisations representing listed places of worship, and continue to welcome feedback on the operation and effectiveness of the scheme. I was pleased to visit St Peter and St Paul's church in Albury, Surrey, earlier this year to hear how the Listed Places of Worship grant scheme helped them to carry out repairs to the church roof.
Asked by: Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many national insurance numbers were issued in each of the past five years; and how many were outstanding at each year end.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
The department regularly publishes the number of National Insurance Numbers (NINOs) allocated by DWP to Adult Foreign Nationals on Stat-Xplore, and these are shown in Table 1 for the past five years. The number of outstanding applications at the end of each year are shown in Table 2. These figures do not include those NINOs issued by HMRC to juveniles.
Table 1: Annual number of National Insurance Numbers Allocated to Adult Foreign Nationals, April 2018 to March 2023
FYE 2019 | 650,000 |
FYE 2020 | 760,000 |
FYE 2021 | 230,000 |
FYE 2022 | 770,000 |
FYE 2023 | 1,110,000 |
Source: Stat-Xplore
Note: Data has been rounded to the nearest 10,000.
Table 2: Number of outstanding National Insurance Number applications at the end of the last 5 business years
FYE 2019 | 86,000 |
FYE 2020 | 60,000 |
FYE 2021 | 55,000 |
FYE 2022 | 22,000 |
FYE 2023 | 10,000 |
Source: Internal NINO clerical Capacity Plans and NINO Work Position Overviews.
Note: Data has been rounded to the nearest 1,000.
Asked by: Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many requests were made to HMRC for details of property ownership under the (1) "offshore company", or (2) "legitimate interest", provision in each of the past two years; and how many were accepted.
Answered by Baroness Penn
The Trust Registration Service (TRS) is a register of beneficial ownership of trusts held by HMRC, rather than property ownership. Third parties have been able to request access to information held on the TRS since 1 September 2022.
Asked by: Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to launch their technical consultation on the Community Health Fund; and how long this consultation will be open for submissions.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport)
His Majesty’s Government has recently announced that community wealth funds will become the fourth cause for dormant assets funding in England.
A community wealth fund will provide funding sources to local communities, with spending decisions made by local residents about how to improve their communities. The Government will soon launch a technical consultation on the design of this important new initiative and welcomes views on how best to ensure its long-term impact; the consultation will be open for 12 weeks.
Secondary legislation to enable dormant assets funding to be directed to community wealth funds will be introduced as soon as Parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what were the overseas operational theatres in respect of which the UK has made payments as a result of (1) civilian death or injury, or (2) property damage, since 1 January 2003.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The first payments were made by the Area Claims Office in Iraq in June 2003.
The overseas operational theatres concerned were Iraq and Afghanistan.
There are two categories of claims for compensation - Category 1 those brought before the UK Courts and handled by officials in the MOD and Category 2 those handled by the Area Claims Offices staffed by UK personnel based in the overseas operational theatre.
Iraq
Category 1 - civil litigation
(1) Compensation payments have been made on 738 individual claims in respect of civilian death or injury.
(2) In terms of property claims, no payments have been made
Category 2 - Area Claims Office - Iraq
Information has been extracted from the register that was compiled by staff in the Area Claims Office in Iraq who held the post between 2003 and 2009. Compensation payments have been made on over 1,000 individual claims in respect of civilian death or injury and or property.
Afghanistan
Category 1 - civil litigation
(1) Compensation payments have been made on 17 individual claims in respect of civilian death or injury.
(2) Compensation payments have been made on 1 individual claim in respect of property damage since 1 January 2003.
Category 2 - Area Claims Office Afghanistan
Information has been extracted from the register that was compiled by the staff in the Area Claims Office in Afghanistan who held the post between 2006 and 2014. Compensation payments have been made on over 4,000 individual claims in respect of civilian death or injury and or property.
In respect of civilian death or injury £27.3 million has been paid relating to claims brought in the UK and £2,245 in respect of property damage claims. These payments include Human Rights Act elements.
Some £7.3 million has been made in ex gratia payments for civilian death or injury and property damage by the Area Claims Offices in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The lowest payment for (a) civilian death or injury is $50 paid by the Area Claims Office Afghanistan and the lowest payment for (b) property damage is $10.27 paid by the Area Claims Office Afghanistan.
The highest individual payment for civilian injury or death is £1.5 million and includes ongoing annual periodic payments.
The highest payment for property damage is $232,400 by the Area Claims Office Afghanistan.
Asked by: Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government when, since 1 January 2003, the UK first made a payment in response to (1) civilian death or injury, or (2) property damage, resulting from overseas operations.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The first payments were made by the Area Claims Office in Iraq in June 2003.
The overseas operational theatres concerned were Iraq and Afghanistan.
There are two categories of claims for compensation - Category 1 those brought before the UK Courts and handled by officials in the MOD and Category 2 those handled by the Area Claims Offices staffed by UK personnel based in the overseas operational theatre.
Iraq
Category 1 - civil litigation
(1) Compensation payments have been made on 738 individual claims in respect of civilian death or injury.
(2) In terms of property claims, no payments have been made
Category 2 - Area Claims Office - Iraq
Information has been extracted from the register that was compiled by staff in the Area Claims Office in Iraq who held the post between 2003 and 2009. Compensation payments have been made on over 1,000 individual claims in respect of civilian death or injury and or property.
Afghanistan
Category 1 - civil litigation
(1) Compensation payments have been made on 17 individual claims in respect of civilian death or injury.
(2) Compensation payments have been made on 1 individual claim in respect of property damage since 1 January 2003.
Category 2 - Area Claims Office Afghanistan
Information has been extracted from the register that was compiled by the staff in the Area Claims Office in Afghanistan who held the post between 2006 and 2014. Compensation payments have been made on over 4,000 individual claims in respect of civilian death or injury and or property.
In respect of civilian death or injury £27.3 million has been paid relating to claims brought in the UK and £2,245 in respect of property damage claims. These payments include Human Rights Act elements.
Some £7.3 million has been made in ex gratia payments for civilian death or injury and property damage by the Area Claims Offices in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The lowest payment for (a) civilian death or injury is $50 paid by the Area Claims Office Afghanistan and the lowest payment for (b) property damage is $10.27 paid by the Area Claims Office Afghanistan.
The highest individual payment for civilian injury or death is £1.5 million and includes ongoing annual periodic payments.
The highest payment for property damage is $232,400 by the Area Claims Office Afghanistan.
Asked by: Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the total monetary amount of financial payments made by the UK in response to (1) civilian death or injury, or (2) property damage, which resulted from acts carried out by UK Armed Forces during overseas operations since 1 January 2003, including (a) formal compensation claims under the Human Right Act 1998, and (b) condolence or ex gratia payments to affected family members or next of kin.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The first payments were made by the Area Claims Office in Iraq in June 2003.
The overseas operational theatres concerned were Iraq and Afghanistan.
There are two categories of claims for compensation - Category 1 those brought before the UK Courts and handled by officials in the MOD and Category 2 those handled by the Area Claims Offices staffed by UK personnel based in the overseas operational theatre.
Iraq
Category 1 - civil litigation
(1) Compensation payments have been made on 738 individual claims in respect of civilian death or injury.
(2) In terms of property claims, no payments have been made
Category 2 - Area Claims Office - Iraq
Information has been extracted from the register that was compiled by staff in the Area Claims Office in Iraq who held the post between 2003 and 2009. Compensation payments have been made on over 1,000 individual claims in respect of civilian death or injury and or property.
Afghanistan
Category 1 - civil litigation
(1) Compensation payments have been made on 17 individual claims in respect of civilian death or injury.
(2) Compensation payments have been made on 1 individual claim in respect of property damage since 1 January 2003.
Category 2 - Area Claims Office Afghanistan
Information has been extracted from the register that was compiled by the staff in the Area Claims Office in Afghanistan who held the post between 2006 and 2014. Compensation payments have been made on over 4,000 individual claims in respect of civilian death or injury and or property.
In respect of civilian death or injury £27.3 million has been paid relating to claims brought in the UK and £2,245 in respect of property damage claims. These payments include Human Rights Act elements.
Some £7.3 million has been made in ex gratia payments for civilian death or injury and property damage by the Area Claims Offices in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The lowest payment for (a) civilian death or injury is $50 paid by the Area Claims Office Afghanistan and the lowest payment for (b) property damage is $10.27 paid by the Area Claims Office Afghanistan.
The highest individual payment for civilian injury or death is £1.5 million and includes ongoing annual periodic payments.
The highest payment for property damage is $232,400 by the Area Claims Office Afghanistan.