Asked by: Lord Morris of Aberavon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why they granted a bilateral loan of £3.2 billion to the government of the Republic of Ireland in 2010.
Answered by Lord Bates
As the then Chancellor said at the time, the government agreed in 2010 to provide a bilateral loan to Ireland because it was overwhelmingly in the UK’s national interest to have a strong Irish economy and stable banking system. The links between our financial systems, particularly in Northern Ireland, mean that there was a strong economic case to provide financial assistance to Ireland. By being part of the international financial package, the UK indirectly supported the very many businesses across the UK that trade with Ireland.Asked by: Lord Morris of Aberavon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the cost to the UK of assisting Irish banks and financial institutions during the financial crisis; and whether the cost of such assistance and money provided has been repaid.
Answered by Lord Bates
HM Government did not provide any direct financial assistance to banks or financial institutions headquartered in Ireland during the financial crisis.
Ulster Bank, which is headquartered in Dublin, is part of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Group and indirectly benefitted from the recapitalisation of its parent company in 2008-9.
In 2010, Parliament authorised a bilateral loan of £3.2 billion to be lent to the Irish Government as part of a wider international assistance package. Disbursements were made in 8 tranches between 2011 and 2013. Principal repayments will begin in April 2019 and the Government expects the loan to be repaid on time and in full with interest. The most recent statutory report on the loan was laid in Parliament on 15 October 2018 and is available to view online.
Asked by: Lord Morris of Aberavon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Agnew of Oulton on 11 October (HL Deb, col 184), whether any government departments or their agencies charge interest rates to borrowers of 6.2 per cent or above.
Answered by Lord Bates
The government has issued many loans over the years and interest rates have varied considerably over time. Given this, details of all loans issued and the rates applied are not held centrally by HM Treasury.
Asked by: Lord Morris of Aberavon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the European Commissioner for Competition to set up a system to ensure that large industries that have substantial operations in EU countries, but pay a large part of their taxes elsewhere, pay appropriate taxes in the EU countries where their operations are based.
Answered by Lord Bates
The UK has led global efforts to tackle multinational tax avoidance.
We were at the forefront of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project, which sought to address gaps and mismatches in the international tax system and align tax with economic substance.
We have swiftly implemented the project’s recommendations in domestic legislation, introducing a new restriction on the deductibility of multinationals’ interest expense and rules to prevent multinationals exploiting differences in how countries tax financial instruments and entities.
We worked closely with the EU Commission and other Member States on the Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive, which seeks to implement the recommendations of the BEPS project and ensure a coordinated response in the EU to tackling tax avoidance by multinationals.
We are engaging constructively with the EU Commission’s recent proposals on digital taxation, which seek to better ensure that digital businesses pay tax in the countries in which they generate value.
Asked by: Lord Morris of Aberavon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which Government organisations, other than the Student Loans Company, charge borrowers more than four per cent for loans.
Answered by Lord Bates
The Government has issued many loans over the years and interest rates have varied considerably over time. Given this, details of all loans issued and the rates applied are not held centrally by HM Treasury.
Asked by: Lord Morris of Aberavon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the cost to the Treasury of providing support to banks in the Republic of Ireland during the 2008 banking crisis; and whether any of the funds provided have been repaid.
Answered by Lord Bates
HM Government did not provide any direct financial assistance to banks headquartered in Ireland during the financial crisis.
In 2010, Parliament authorised a bilateral loan of £3.2 billion to be lent to the Irish Government as part of a wider international assistance package. Disbursements were made in 8 tranches between 2011 and 2013. Principal repayments will begin in April 2019 and the Government expects the loan to be repaid in full with interest. The most recent statutory report on the loan was laid in Parliament on 24 April 2018 and is available to view online.
Asked by: Lord Morris of Aberavon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply by Viscount Younger of Leckie on 13 December (HL Deb, cols 1552–4), whether any Government body, other than the Student Loans Company, provides loans on which interest is charged at six per cent or more per annum.
Answered by Lord Bates
The Government has issued many loans over the years and interest rates have varied considerably over time. Given this, details of all loans issued and the rates applied are not held centrally by HM Treasury.
Asked by: Lord Morris of Aberavon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which particular EU directive or regulation has led to banks, credit companies and stores reviewing their loyalty schemes in order to differentiate between points earned from transactions inside and outside an institution, and how the UK voted when that matter was decided in the Council of Ministers.
Answered by Lord O'Neill of Gatley
The Government has been determined to tackle the unfair fees being charged to UK businesses for processing card transactions through the Interchange Fee Regulation, which came into force in December 2015. In order to make sure that consumers as well as businesses benefit as a result of the Interchange Fee Regulation, the UK negotiated through the revised Payment Services Directive capping or, in some cases banning completely, the charges that some businesses ask of customers who pay by debit or credit card.
We are aware that some banks and other companies are cutting back on their customer rewards packages to recoup costs they face as a result of the interchange fee caps. However, this is a commercial decision on the part of these companies - not all firms have followed suit.