Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to respond to the Treasury Committee's Economic Crime Report published on 2 February 2022; what assessment he has made of (a) the potential merits of that report's recommendations on authorised push payment scams and (b) the effectiveness of the Contingent Reimbursement Model Code in providing sufficient protection to consumers in the context of the findings of that report on that matter.
Answered by John Glen
The Government has now shared its response to the Treasury Select Committee’s Economic Crime report with the Committee.
The Government is committed to tackling fraud within payment networks, including to protect people against Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud. The Government welcomed the publication of the Payment Systems Regulator’s (PSR) Consultation on 18 November 2021 regarding further measures to counter APP scams, and announced alongside that it would address any legislative barriers to the PSR taking regulatory action on mandatory APP reimbursement.
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what legislative steps he plans to take to tackle barriers to regulatory action against authorised push payment scams; what his timetable is for bringing forward such legislation; and whether those proposals will include amendment of the Payment Services Regulations 2017.
Answered by John Glen
Authorised Push Payment (APP) scams pose risks to UK customers, with increasingly sophisticated scams that can be detrimental to people’s lives. The Government recognises the urgency of this matter, and has therefore committed to legislate to address any barriers to regulatory action on mandatory reimbursement when parliamentary time allows. The Government will set out more detail on its approach in due course.
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to publish the report required to be published on or before 13 January 2023 under Regulation 158(2) of the Payment Services Regulations 2017 setting out the conclusions of his Department's review of the regulatory provisions contained in those Regulation; and what steps he plans to take to involve organisations representing consumers in that review.
Answered by John Glen
The government is delivering the Future Regulatory Framework (FRF) Review. This will ensure that, having left the EU, the government establishes a coherent, agile and internationally respected approach to financial services regulation that is right for the UK, delegating the setting of regulatory standards to the regulators who will work within an overall policy framework set by government and Parliament.
Given this backdrop, the government intends to publish its review of the Payment Services Regulations 2017, which is retained EU Law, no earlier than January 2023.
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to research from the National Literacy Trust and Audible on the impact on the mental health of adults of listening to audiobooks, if he will make it his policy to remove VAT on audiobooks to bring tax policy in line with the zero VAT on physical and ebooks.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
The extension of the zero rate of VAT to e-publications was introduced to provide consistency of approach between certain physical and digital publications, to support reading and literacy in all its forms. Audiobooks are already taxed consistently at the standard rate in both physical and digital formats.
In UK law, a book is deemed to be something that is read or looked at; a definition that does not include audio content in either digital or physical form.
The Government keeps all taxes under review, including VAT, but there are no current plans to extend the VAT zero rate to audiobooks.