Asked by: Douglas Carswell (Independent - Clacton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate has he made of the amount of VAT that has been raised in respect of hot takeaway food in each of the last three years.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The information requested is not held.
Asked by: Douglas Carswell (Independent - Clacton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the revenue that UK banks and financial institutions receive through passporting rights within the EU since 2000.
Answered by David Gauke
Over 5,000 UK firms, including banks, investment firms and insurance companies, hold passports which enable them to provide their financial services and establish branches in other EU Member States. Excluding banks more than three-quarters of all of the firms in the EU that use passporting under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive are based in the UK. However, passporting rights are conferred under several different pieces of EU legislation.
Supervisory authorities record passport notifications, including into which Member State the passport is being used, but there is no detailed record of the type or scale of their use. The Treasury is engaging with business to further understand the issues affecting the financial services industry as the UK prepares for negotiations to leave the EU, including how firms make use of the different passports available to them.
Asked by: Douglas Carswell (Independent - Clacton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the total amount of remittances by EU A8 citizens resident in the UK since May 2004.
Answered by David Gauke
HM Treasury has made no estimate of the number of remittances made since May 2004.
Asked by: Douglas Carswell (Independent - Clacton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Prime Minister's oral contribution of 22 February 2016, Official Report columns 24-5 whether his Department plans to release further analysis of the economic benefits of the UK staying in a reformed EU.
Answered by David Gauke
The Treasury’s document published on the 18th April, was a rigorous and objective assessment of the economic impact of EU membership and the alternative. As stated in this document there will be a further document with an independent assessment of the short term implications of leaving the EU.
Asked by: Douglas Carswell (Independent - Clacton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what advice he has received from the Office for Budget Responsibility on the effect on the economy in the event of the UK leaving the EU.
Answered by David Gauke
A vote to leave the EU is identified as an economic risk in the OBR’s March 2016 Economic and Fiscal Outlook, which states that it “could usher in an extended period of uncertainty regarding the precise terms of the UK’s future relationship with the EU. This could have negative implications for activity via business and consumer confidence and might result in greater volatility in financial and other asset markets”.
Asked by: Douglas Carswell (Independent - Clacton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the guidance note on public sector pay and terms published by his Department on 5 February 2016, whether he plans to place that guidance on a statutory footing; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
There are no current plans to place the guidance note on public sector pay and terms on a statutory footing.
The note is a reminder of the rules that are in place and the Government’s expectations on public sector employers.
Asked by: Douglas Carswell (Independent - Clacton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what planning his Department is undertaking on the collation of block chain data; and what discussions he has had with the Bank of England on that topic.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
Digital currencies, and the distributed ledger technology that underpins them, have the potential to bring innovative services and products to UK customers and firms – particularly in areas like international transfers.
The Chancellor announced in March 2015 that the Government will bring digital currency exchange firms into regulation in the UK to help the legitimate industry flourish, and to create a hostile environment for illicit actors. We will publish proposals on this regulatory regime in due course.
As outlined in Deputy Governor, Ben Broadbent’s recent speech, the Bank of England is also exploring this emerging sector and the implications it could have for monetary and financial stability as part of its broader research agenda.
Separately, academics at University College London’s (UCL) digital currency research centre have also been looking at how the distributed ledger technology that underpins digital currencies could be harnessed by central banks. The Government is encouraged to see this research from one of the UK’s world-leading universities. However, this a theoretical paper by an independent institution, separate from the Bank of England’s work and from Government policy.
It is the Government’s ambition to foster the growth of legitimate digital currency firms as part of the wider FinTech ecosystem here in the UK. As part of this, the Government will consider the wider implications of a growing digital currencies sector for the financial services sector and the economy as a whole. Some parts of Government are also looking at how the benefits of distributed ledger technology can be harnessed to deliver greater innovation. However, the Government and the Bank of England do not currently have any plans to introduce a centrally issued digital currency.
The UK has been rated as having the world’s leading FinTech ecosystem in a recent global benchmarking exercise and attracted c. £524mn in investment in 2015.
Asked by: Douglas Carswell (Independent - Clacton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to implement the University College London RSCoin proposal.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
Digital currencies, and the distributed ledger technology that underpins them, have the potential to bring innovative services and products to UK customers and firms – particularly in areas like international transfers.
The Chancellor announced in March 2015 that the Government will bring digital currency exchange firms into regulation in the UK to help the legitimate industry flourish, and to create a hostile environment for illicit actors. We will publish proposals on this regulatory regime in due course.
As outlined in Deputy Governor, Ben Broadbent’s recent speech, the Bank of England is also exploring this emerging sector and the implications it could have for monetary and financial stability as part of its broader research agenda.
Separately, academics at University College London’s (UCL) digital currency research centre have also been looking at how the distributed ledger technology that underpins digital currencies could be harnessed by central banks. The Government is encouraged to see this research from one of the UK’s world-leading universities. However, this a theoretical paper by an independent institution, separate from the Bank of England’s work and from Government policy.
It is the Government’s ambition to foster the growth of legitimate digital currency firms as part of the wider FinTech ecosystem here in the UK. As part of this, the Government will consider the wider implications of a growing digital currencies sector for the financial services sector and the economy as a whole. Some parts of Government are also looking at how the benefits of distributed ledger technology can be harnessed to deliver greater innovation. However, the Government and the Bank of England do not currently have any plans to introduce a centrally issued digital currency.
The UK has been rated as having the world’s leading FinTech ecosystem in a recent global benchmarking exercise and attracted c. £524mn in investment in 2015.
Asked by: Douglas Carswell (Independent - Clacton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what planning his Department is undertaking in relation to the effect of crypto-currencies on traditional banking models.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
Digital currencies, and the distributed ledger technology that underpins them, have the potential to bring innovative services and products to UK customers and firms – particularly in areas like international transfers.
The Chancellor announced in March 2015 that the Government will bring digital currency exchange firms into regulation in the UK to help the legitimate industry flourish, and to create a hostile environment for illicit actors. We will publish proposals on this regulatory regime in due course.
As outlined in Deputy Governor, Ben Broadbent’s recent speech, the Bank of England is also exploring this emerging sector and the implications it could have for monetary and financial stability as part of its broader research agenda.
Separately, academics at University College London’s (UCL) digital currency research centre have also been looking at how the distributed ledger technology that underpins digital currencies could be harnessed by central banks. The Government is encouraged to see this research from one of the UK’s world-leading universities. However, this a theoretical paper by an independent institution, separate from the Bank of England’s work and from Government policy.
It is the Government’s ambition to foster the growth of legitimate digital currency firms as part of the wider FinTech ecosystem here in the UK. As part of this, the Government will consider the wider implications of a growing digital currencies sector for the financial services sector and the economy as a whole. Some parts of Government are also looking at how the benefits of distributed ledger technology can be harnessed to deliver greater innovation. However, the Government and the Bank of England do not currently have any plans to introduce a centrally issued digital currency.
The UK has been rated as having the world’s leading FinTech ecosystem in a recent global benchmarking exercise and attracted c. £524mn in investment in 2015.
Asked by: Douglas Carswell (Independent - Clacton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Bank of England on utilising the University College London RSCoin proposal as an alternative to Western Union, CHAPS, BACS and the Faster Payment Service.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
Digital currencies, and the distributed ledger technology that underpins them, have the potential to bring innovative services and products to UK customers and firms – particularly in areas like international transfers.
The Chancellor announced in March 2015 that the Government will bring digital currency exchange firms into regulation in the UK to help the legitimate industry flourish, and to create a hostile environment for illicit actors. We will publish proposals on this regulatory regime in due course.
As outlined in Deputy Governor, Ben Broadbent’s recent speech, the Bank of England is also exploring this emerging sector and the implications it could have for monetary and financial stability as part of its broader research agenda.
Separately, academics at University College London’s (UCL) digital currency research centre have also been looking at how the distributed ledger technology that underpins digital currencies could be harnessed by central banks. The Government is encouraged to see this research from one of the UK’s world-leading universities. However, this a theoretical paper by an independent institution, separate from the Bank of England’s work and from Government policy.
It is the Government’s ambition to foster the growth of legitimate digital currency firms as part of the wider FinTech ecosystem here in the UK. As part of this, the Government will consider the wider implications of a growing digital currencies sector for the financial services sector and the economy as a whole. Some parts of Government are also looking at how the benefits of distributed ledger technology can be harnessed to deliver greater innovation. However, the Government and the Bank of England do not currently have any plans to introduce a centrally issued digital currency.
The UK has been rated as having the world’s leading FinTech ecosystem in a recent global benchmarking exercise and attracted c. £524mn in investment in 2015.