Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the economic cost of the COVID-19 pandemic, what plans they have (1) to halt, or (2) to reconsider, national infrastructure projects that have not yet received development consent orders.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Decisions on future projects will be made as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) and National Infrastructure Strategy due later in the Autumn. In the announcement[1] of the CSR the Chancellor committed to levelling up economic opportunity across all nations and regions of the country by investing in infrastructure, innovation and people.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/chancellor-launches-comprehensive-spending-review
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will consider a moratorium on any repatriation of gold held by the Bank of England to the government or Central Bank of Venezuela until such time as they are satisfied that any repatriation meets the best interests of the people of that country.
Answered by Lord Bates
Holding gold reserves on behalf of any foreign central bank is a matter for the Bank of England. The Bank of England does not share information on which central banks it holds gold reserves on behalf of or the value of that gold as this would contradict their customer confidentiality obligations. Repatriation of any gold held at the Bank of England is ultimately a matter for the Bank of England. HM Treasury only has direct control over Government holdings of gold within its official reserves, which are held at the Bank of England.
The UK fully implements UN, EU and UK domestic sanctions law. The EU sanctions regime on Venezuela, introduced in November 2017, includes targeted asset freezes applied to a number of senior Government officials in the Maduro regime.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have a role in deciding for which foreign governments and central banks the Bank of England should hold gold reserves; and if so, for which foreign governments and central banks the Bank of England holds gold reserves, and in what quantities.
Answered by Lord Bates
HM Treasury does not have a role in deciding whether the Bank of England holds gold for foreign governments and central banks. HM Treasury is unable to substantiate whether the Bank of England holds gold for particular foreign governments and central banks as that is a matter for the Bank of England. The Bank of England does not share information on which foreign governments and central banks it holds gold reserves on behalf of or the value of that gold as this would contradict their customer confidentiality obligations.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the benefits to the UK of holding gold reserves for the central bank of Venezuela, and (2) the value of gold held by the Bank of England for the central bank of Venezuela; and whether they have a role in intervening if a request is made to repatriate any such gold.
Answered by Lord Bates
HM Treasury is unable to substantiate whether the Bank of England holds gold for the Central Bank of Venezuela as that is a matter for the Bank of England. HM Treasury has not made an assessment of the benefits to the UK of the Bank of England holding gold reserves for other central banks. Holding gold reserves on behalf of any foreign central bank is a matter for the Bank of England. The Bank of England does not share information on which central banks it holds gold reserves on behalf of or the value of that gold as this would contradict their customer confidentiality obligations.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the benefits to the UK of holding gold reserves for other central banks, and (2) the value of gold held by the Bank of England for other central banks.
Answered by Lord Bates
HM Treasury is unable to substantiate whether the Bank of England holds gold for other central banks as that is a matter for the Bank of England. HM Treasury has not made an assessment of the benefits to the UK of the Bank of England holding gold reserves for other central banks. Holding gold reserves on behalf of any foreign central bank is a matter for the Bank of England. The Bank of England does not share information on which central banks it holds gold reserves on behalf of or the value of that gold as this would contradict their customer confidentiality obligations.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they anticipate that current Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development rules relating to tax residency will be adhered to following Brexit.
Answered by Lord Bates
The UK will continue to adhere to the OECD’s tax standards after Brexit. These include the provisions relating to residence in the OECD model treaty.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to advance the UK’s position as an international financial centre.
Answered by Lord Bates
The UK is home to the world’s preeminent financial centre and the government is committed to maintaining and enhancing this position. In addition to our natural advantages, such as a central time zone and the English language, we have strengths across all the major sectors – banking, asset management, and insurance – alongside a globally respected regulatory system, and world-class legal and professional services.
As the Chancellor of the Exchequer set out in his Mansion House speech in June, the government has a long-term vision for the future of UK financial services, based on ensuring the continued innovation, resilience, and openness of the sector. This includes strengthening the UK’s already world-leading positions in the markets of the future, whether in Fintech, green and sustainable finance, or rupee and renminbi products.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what involvement the UK has with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
Answered by Lord Bates
The UK became a founding member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in 2015, with a 3.18% shareholding, representing a capital contribution of $3.05 billion (of which 20% will be paid-in over five years, and 80% is callable).
The Chancellor of the Exchequer represents the UK at the AIIB Board of Governors. The UK also holds one of the 12 seats on the AIIB Board of Directors, representing the Wider Europe Constituency (Denmark, Hungary, Iceland, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK).
The UK is an active and committed shareholder of the Bank, in pursuit of the UK’s objectives of supporting economic growth in Asia, deepening economic ties globally, supporting the development of international financial institutions, and creating opportunities for British businesses.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use of the UK’s financial markets for corrupt transactions by overseas investors; and what steps they are taking to combat such practices.
Answered by Lord Bates
The UK’s openness and status as a global financial centre exposes it to the risk of illicit financial flows.
The UK’s National Risk Assessment 2017 assessed that retail banking, wholesale banking, capital markets and wealth management are all exposed to high money laundering risks. This assessment can be viewed online.
This government is committed to ensuring the UK’s financial system is hostile to illicit finance, and is taking action to protect the integrity of the UK financial system.
This includes introducing the Criminal Finances Act 2017 to enhance law enforcement’s powers to investigate and tackle financial crime, and comprehensively updating the Money Laundering Regulations to bring them in line with the latest international standards.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which supervises financial institutions conducts regular, detailed AML inspections of the major retail and investment banks operating in the UK. Where financial institutions fall short of their legal and regulatory obligations, the FCA has taken tough action.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to continue to adhere to the OECD residency criteria for tax purposes post-Brexit.
Answered by Lord Bates
The UK will continue to adhere to the OECD’s tax standards after Brexit. These include the provisions relating to residence in the OECD model treaty that the UK uses as the basis for bilateral double taxation agreements.