Asked by: Chris Leslie (The Independent Group for Change - Nottingham East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Department's announcement, Government sells more shares in Lloyds through trading plan, published on 9 March 2015, how many shares in Lloyds Banking Group the Government sold, and at what price per share.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 17 December 2014 the Chancellor authorised the sale of a third part of the government’s shareholding in Lloyds Banking Group via a trading plan. The plan is ongoing and will end no later than 30 June 2015. Morgan Stanley act as broker on behalf of HM Treasury to execute the trading plan.
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules require HMG as seller to inform the market each time its shareholding has crossed through a one percentage point threshold, which is typically released via RNS by the company. Lloyds have therefore released two such statements since the launch of the trading plan, on 23 February and 9 March 2015. These contain details of the government’s remaining shareholding in Lloyds. On both occasions, the government released a statement confirming these announcements.
On 9 March 2015 the government confirmed that the total amount of money raised through the trading plan was over £1bn and that the government’s shareholding in Lloyds had fallen below 23%.
As I informed the House in my written statement on 18 December, a statement will be laid before Parliament with further details at the end of the plan. In order to get the best deal for the taxpayer, I will not provide a running commentary on the price of shares and the precise number sold while the trading plan is ongoing. However, the Chancellor has made clear that no shares will be sold below the average price the previous government paid for them (i.e. 73.6p).
Asked by: Chris Leslie (The Independent Group for Change - Nottingham East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reasons details of the latest sale of Government held shares in Lloyds Banking Group were not published by UK Financial Investments.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 17 December 2014 the Chancellor authorised the sale of a third part of the government’s shareholding in Lloyds Banking Group via a trading plan. The plan is ongoing and will end no later than 30 June 2015. Morgan Stanley act as broker on behalf of HM Treasury to execute the trading plan.
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules require HMG as seller to inform the market each time its shareholding has crossed through a one percentage point threshold, which is typically released via RNS by the company. Lloyds have therefore released two such statements since the launch of the trading plan, on 23 February and 9 March 2015. These contain details of the government’s remaining shareholding in Lloyds. On both occasions, the government released a statement confirming these announcements.
On 9 March 2015 the government confirmed that the total amount of money raised through the trading plan was over £1bn and that the government’s shareholding in Lloyds had fallen below 23%.
As I informed the House in my written statement on 18 December, a statement will be laid before Parliament with further details at the end of the plan. In order to get the best deal for the taxpayer, I will not provide a running commentary on the price of shares and the precise number sold while the trading plan is ongoing. However, the Chancellor has made clear that no shares will be sold below the average price the previous government paid for them (i.e. 73.6p).
Asked by: Chris Leslie (The Independent Group for Change - Nottingham East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when his Department was first made aware of the EU Statistical Office revisions to the UK's gross national income and value added tax balances and subsequent calculation of an EU member state's contribution to the 2014 Amending Budget.
Answered by David Gauke
As my Rt Hon Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer told the House on 4 November, Col 565, there was a meeting at the Commission on Friday 17 October. On Tuesday 21 October, Treasury officials prepared advice for the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the Prime Minister was aware of the advice on Thursday 23 October. That is very similar to the timetable that the Dutch Government have set out.
Asked by: Chris Leslie (The Independent Group for Change - Nottingham East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many officials in his Department have had responsibility for monitoring gross national income accounting changes and their effect on the UK contribution to the EU in the last 12 months.
Answered by David Gauke
Economic statistics that impact upon the UK’s contribution to the EU budget such as gross national income and VAT affect a wide range of areas within HM Treasury and as a consequence will include a large number of different officials.
Asked by: Chris Leslie (The Independent Group for Change - Nottingham East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much the Government has spent per capita on infrastructure in each region and constituent part of the UK in each of the last five years.
Answered by Danny Alexander
Table 1 Total identifiable expenditure on capital services by country and region, per head 2008-09 to 2012-13
Please see attached infrastructure table.
Sources:
Expenditure data is taken from the Country and Regional Analyses 2013. In order to calculate per head figures the latest mid-year population estimates; for England and Wales from the ONS; for Scotland from the GRO and; for Northern Ireland from the NISRA.
Asked by: Chris Leslie (The Independent Group for Change - Nottingham East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion and value of his Department's contracts have been let (a) under the restricted procedure, (b) by the open procedure, (c) via framework agreements and (d) via a tendering process involving the use of a pre-qualification questionnaire in each of the last three years.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Since January 2011, central government departments have been required to publish on Contracts Finder information on the tenders issued and contracts they award with a value over £10,000 (excluding VAT) (www.gov.uk/contractsfinder).
Public Procurement Regulations require that prescribed procurement procedures are used when procurements exceed the EU contract threshold values. This legal framework helps to ensure that public procurement is conducted in a fair and open manner both within the UK and across the EU.
Less than two percent of all contracts were let under the restricted procedure in each of the last three years.
In 2010/11 there was one contract let under the restricted procedure. This was for actuarial support to the independent commission on Equitable Life Payments that was set up by this government to recommend how best to fairly allocate funds provided for the Equitable Life Payments Scheme (ELPS) and had a contract value of £1million.
In 2011/12 there were two contracts let under the restricted procedure. They were (i) Corporate Financial Advice framework contract (estimated contract value of £5 million over the 2 years but no guaranteed spend)and (ii) a contract for actuarial support for (ELPS) in making fair and transparent payments to Equitable Life policyholders who suffered financial losses as a result of Government maladministration which occurred in the regulation of Equitable Life. The contract value was £5.4 million.
The information requested for the proportion and value of HM Treasury contracts that have been let via framework agreements and where a tendering process involving the use of a pre-qualification questionnaire in each of the last three years is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Chris Leslie (The Independent Group for Change - Nottingham East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to improve support for small and medium-sized enterprises which are in need of short-term assistance and flexibility through improved partnership working between the HM Revenue and Custom's (HMRC) simplified import VAT accounting duty deferment team and the HMRC debt management and time-to-pay teams; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by David Gauke
The Simplified Import VAT Accounting (SIVA) scheme is a trade facilitation measure that reduces compliance costs for legitimate traders through the removal of the requirement to provide a guarantee to secure import VAT paid through the duty deferment scheme.
The risk to the tax revenue by traders operating SIVA is potentially very large as the period between the tax due being deferred and being collected by HMRC may result in a failure to pay. The setting of the SIVA approval criteria has to strike a balance between ensuring the trade receive the maximum benefit from the scheme, while at the same time protecting the revenue.
Businesses have to demonstrate on-going compliance with the SIVA requirements. The SIVA team monitor this through internal systems, including any outstanding debts or Time-to Pay agreements requested. When they identify a business experiencing difficulties, they advise them of the potential impact on their SIVA approval. Warning letters are issued by the team to businesses who fail to comply and only if there is evidence of continued non-compliance is the approval removed.
The current procedures provide an appropriate balance between trade faciliation and protection of the revenue.
Asked by: Chris Leslie (The Independent Group for Change - Nottingham East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which 10 consultancy firms were paid the most by his Department in the last financial year; and how much each of those firms was paid.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Since January 2011, central government departments have been required to publish on Contracts Finder information on the contracts they award (www.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk/).
In addition, departments publish details of spend in excess of £25,000 at www.gov.uk/government/collections/25000-spend .
Asked by: Chris Leslie (The Independent Group for Change - Nottingham East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which five companies were used most often to provide temporary workers for his Department in the last financial year; and how much in agency fees was paid to each of them.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Under this Government's transparency programme, contracts are published on Contracts Finder which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder.
In addition all Departments publish details of transactions above £25,000. Data for HM Treasury can be found at:
www.gov.uk/government/collections/25000-spend