Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many former members of Commando Force 333 are in the UK.
Answered by James Heappey
As of 8 September, we have relocated over 12,200 individuals under the ARAP scheme to the UK. It is not possible to provide a breakdown of these figures by job role or specific unit.
Not all members of the Afghan Armed Forces, including specific units such as Commando Force 333 will automatically be eligible for ARAP. However, we are prioritising finding remaining eligible applications who are awaiting a decision as quickly as we can.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of how many former members of Commando Force 333 have died since the fall of Kabul.
Answered by James Heappey
It is not possible to provide an accurate estimate for the number of members of Commando Force 333 who have died since the fall of Kabul. Not all former members of CF333 will have applied for relocation under the ARAP scheme, and some ARAP applicants may have changed their contact details or decided to relocate elsewhere without informing us.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many former members of Commando Force 333 remain in Afghanistan.
Answered by James Heappey
As of 6 September, 582 confirmed ARAP-eligible people remain in Afghanistan. We are unable to break down our figures by specific job role or unit.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Financial Conduct Authority‘s forthcoming review into financial institutions’ adherence to the current guidance on Politically Exposed Persons will address the withdrawal of banking services to individuals due to lawfully held political, philosophical or religious beliefs.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government’s position is clear that financial institutions must not deny services to customers who are Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) solely on the basis of their PEP status, nor on the basis of their political beliefs.
The Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 commits the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to conduct a review into financial institutions’ adherence to their guidance on PEPs, and the appropriateness of that guidance, within twelve months of Royal Assent. This review will assess the compliance of FCA-regulated firms with their legal and regulatory obligations regarding the risk management and treatment of PEPs, as well as their relatives and known close associates, and the FCA will take action where it identifies serious failures. The FCA has contacted domestic PEPs seeking their input regarding their own treatment by financial institutions, and will publish the terms of reference for its review in September.
The Government has also taken action through the Financial Services and Markets Act to commit the Treasury to amend the Money Laundering Regulations to distinguish explicitly between domestic and non-domestic PEPs in law. This amendment will make clear that, in the absence of other high-risk factors, domestic PEPs must be treated as lower risk than non-domestic PEPs and have a lesser degree of enhanced due diligence applied to them.
Separately, there are existing regulations - specifically Regulation 18 of the Payment Accounts Regulations 2015 – which already require banks not to discriminate against any UK consumers based on their political opinions when accessing a payment account. The Chancellor has written to the FCA to request an urgent review into the matter of ‘de-banking’ more broadly. The FCA has agreed to undertake this review, and to share the evidence and findings with the Treasury.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the guidance by the Financial Conduct Authority on politically exposed persons, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of that guidance on financial institutions' (a) authority to withdraw services and (b) the freedom of expression of politically exposed persons.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government’s position is clear that financial institutions must not deny services to customers who are Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) solely on the basis of their PEP status, nor on the basis of their political beliefs.
The Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 commits the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to conduct a review into financial institutions’ adherence to their guidance on PEPs, and the appropriateness of that guidance, within twelve months of Royal Assent. This review will assess the compliance of FCA-regulated firms with their legal and regulatory obligations regarding the risk management and treatment of PEPs, as well as their relatives and known close associates, and the FCA will take action where it identifies serious failures. The FCA has contacted domestic PEPs seeking their input regarding their own treatment by financial institutions, and will publish the terms of reference for its review in September.
The Government has also taken action through the Financial Services and Markets Act to commit the Treasury to amend the Money Laundering Regulations to distinguish explicitly between domestic and non-domestic PEPs in law. This amendment will make clear that, in the absence of other high-risk factors, domestic PEPs must be treated as lower risk than non-domestic PEPs and have a lesser degree of enhanced due diligence applied to them.
Separately, there are existing regulations - specifically Regulation 18 of the Payment Accounts Regulations 2015 – which already require banks not to discriminate against any UK consumers based on their political opinions when accessing a payment account. The Chancellor has written to the FCA to request an urgent review into the matter of ‘de-banking’ more broadly. The FCA has agreed to undertake this review, and to share the evidence and findings with the Treasury.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that (a) banks and (b) other financial institutions cannot refuse to provide financial services on the basis of a person's status as a politically exposed person.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government’s position is clear that financial institutions must not deny services to customers who are Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) solely on the basis of their PEP status, nor on the basis of their political beliefs.
The Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 commits the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to conduct a review into financial institutions’ adherence to their guidance on PEPs, and the appropriateness of that guidance, within twelve months of Royal Assent. This review will assess the compliance of FCA-regulated firms with their legal and regulatory obligations regarding the risk management and treatment of PEPs, as well as their relatives and known close associates, and the FCA will take action where it identifies serious failures. The FCA has contacted domestic PEPs seeking their input regarding their own treatment by financial institutions, and will publish the terms of reference for its review in September.
The Government has also taken action through the Financial Services and Markets Act to commit the Treasury to amend the Money Laundering Regulations to distinguish explicitly between domestic and non-domestic PEPs in law. This amendment will make clear that, in the absence of other high-risk factors, domestic PEPs must be treated as lower risk than non-domestic PEPs and have a lesser degree of enhanced due diligence applied to them.
Separately, there are existing regulations - specifically Regulation 18 of the Payment Accounts Regulations 2015 – which already require banks not to discriminate against any UK consumers based on their political opinions when accessing a payment account. The Chancellor has written to the FCA to request an urgent review into the matter of ‘de-banking’ more broadly. The FCA has agreed to undertake this review, and to share the evidence and findings with the Treasury.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of legislative and regulatory safeguards for preventing financial institutions from (a) refusing to provide and (b) withdrawing services from people on the basis of their lawfully-held political, philosophical and religious beliefs.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has been unequivocal in its view that contracts of payment account facilities should not be terminated on grounds relating to users’ lawful freedom of expression or political beliefs. The Government strongly supports this fundamental right afforded to all people in British society.
On 21 July, the Treasury published its policy statement, setting out its plans to enhance requirements relating to payment account contract termination. These changes will extend the notice period for contract termination to 90 days (subject to limited exceptions), and mandate that providers give a clear and tailored reason for termination, unless to do so would be unlawful.
Following the announcement, I met with the UK’s largest banks and building societies, whose representatives expressed their commitment to the principle of non-discrimination based on lawful freedom of expression, and to bringing their policies in line with the planned reforms where needed, as soon as possible.
Additionally, I note that regulation 18 of the Payment Accounts Regulations 2015 already expressly prohibits credit institutions from discriminating against UK consumers by reason of their religion or belief, or political opinion, as they access payment accounts. The Government has made clear that it expects providers to abide by this legal requirement, and the FCA to use its powers as appropriate to ensure compliance with this requirement.
Further to this, the Chancellor has written to the FCA to request an urgent review into the matter of ‘de-banking’. The FCA is currently undertaking this review and will share the evidence and its findings with the Treasury. This will help inform whether further action is necessary to ensure nobody is being unfairly denied banking facilities.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to include a review of the potential impact of contract termination by (a) banks and (b) other financial institutions on freedom of expression in its consultation on the Payment Services Regulations 2017.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has been unequivocal in its view that contracts of payment account facilities should not be terminated on grounds relating to users’ lawful freedom of expression or political beliefs. The Government strongly supports this fundamental right afforded to all people in British society.
On 21 July, the Treasury published its policy statement, setting out its plans to enhance requirements relating to payment account contract termination. These changes will extend the notice period for contract termination to 90 days (subject to limited exceptions), and mandate that providers give a clear and tailored reason for termination, unless to do so would be unlawful.
Following the announcement, I met with the UK’s largest banks and building societies, whose representatives expressed their commitment to the principle of non-discrimination based on lawful freedom of expression, and to bringing their policies in line with the planned reforms where needed, as soon as possible.
Additionally, I note that regulation 18 of the Payment Accounts Regulations 2015 already expressly prohibits credit institutions from discriminating against UK consumers by reason of their religion or belief, or political opinion, as they access payment accounts. The Government has made clear that it expects providers to abide by this legal requirement, and the FCA to use its powers as appropriate to ensure compliance with this requirement.
Further to this, the Chancellor has written to the FCA to request an urgent review into the matter of ‘de-banking’. The FCA is currently undertaking this review and will share the evidence and its findings with the Treasury. This will help inform whether further action is necessary to ensure nobody is being unfairly denied banking facilities.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of areas suspending the applications process for the grant of new firearms licences on (a) shooting sports and (b) the licenced gun trade in those areas.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
It is a matter for individual Chief Officers of Police to determine how their force firearms licensing departments deals with applications for firearms certificates subject to the relevant legislation and Statutory Guidance issued by the Home Secretary. However, we would expect police forces to provide an efficient and effective service and we understand that there are concerns about the performance of some forces in this respect. Together with the local Police and Crime Commissioner, I have therefore commissioned an inspection of firearms licensing in Devon and Cornwall Police, and I will receive the report from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) later this summer. There will also be a wide thematic inspection of firearms licensing in police forces by HMICRFS in 2024/25 that will look at a number of forces.
In addition, force performance is being actively monitored by the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s lead for firearms licensing.
I have also written to all Police and Crime Commissioners about the importance of an efficient and effective firearms licensing process in police forces and I continue to receive updates on force performance. A refreshed version of the Statutory Guidance to Chief Officers of Police on Firearms Licensing was published on 14 February 2023, and that contains, amongst other matters, new content about the importance of forces managing caseloads effectively to avoid backlogs. This includes a deadline of 14 August to move away from the routine use of temporary permits.
Asked by: Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle delays in issuing licences by police firearms departments.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
It is a matter for individual Chief Officers of Police to determine how their force firearms licensing departments deals with applications for firearms certificates subject to the relevant legislation and Statutory Guidance issued by the Home Secretary. However, we would expect police forces to provide an efficient and effective service and we understand that there are concerns about the performance of some forces in this respect. Together with the local Police and Crime Commissioner, I have therefore commissioned an inspection of firearms licensing in Devon and Cornwall Police, and I will receive the report from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) later this summer. There will also be a wide thematic inspection of firearms licensing in police forces by HMICRFS in 2024/25 that will look at a number of forces.
In addition, force performance is being actively monitored by the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s lead for firearms licensing.
I have also written to all Police and Crime Commissioners about the importance of an efficient and effective firearms licensing process in police forces and I continue to receive updates on force performance. A refreshed version of the Statutory Guidance to Chief Officers of Police on Firearms Licensing was published on 14 February 2023, and that contains, amongst other matters, new content about the importance of forces managing caseloads effectively to avoid backlogs. This includes a deadline of 14 August to move away from the routine use of temporary permits.