Asked by: Jonathan Djanogly (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when the review of the Save As You Earn Bonus Rate Mechanism Review will be concluded; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Following the announcement of a review of the Save As You Earn (SAYE) Bonus Rate Mechanism, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are consulting with administrators of SAYE schemes and their representatives to identify options to introduce a new, simpler and more transparent mechanism. HMRC is working closely with those groups to ensure any new mechanism will be appropriate for both current and future market conditions.
HMRC will provide a further update on the review for interested groups in due course.
Asked by: Jonathan Djanogly (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation’s Annual Review, April 2021 to August 2022, how many warning letters have been sent by the OFSI since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) does not hold complete data on ‘warning letters’ as a sub-category of case closures since the invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. However, OFSI has recorded case closures where it has been acknowledged that no breach occurred, where warnings or advice have been given, and where stakeholders have been put on notice to improve compliance. As of September, 33 case closure letters had been issued in 2022.
Asked by: Jonathan Djanogly (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation’s Annual Review, April 2021 to August 2022, whether the OFSI has expanded to around 100 staff.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
OFSI has expanded to around 100 full-time employees, accelerating and enhancing the ambitious transformation programme it already had underway. HM Treasury and OFSI have been at the front and centre of an unprecedented financial sanctions response to Russia’s unprovoked and unwarranted attack on a sovereign nation, which brought war back to Europe.
Asked by: Jonathan Djanogly (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation’s Annual Review, April 2021 to August 2022, who the eleven designated persons removed from the Russian regime Consolidated List were.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Between 22 February and 24 August 2022, 11 entries designated under the Russia financial sanctions regime were removed from the Consolidated List. The Consolidated List was updated following changes to the UK Sanctions List, published by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
6 entries were removed from the Consolidated List as they were identified to be duplicates of existing entries. The original entries remain on the Consolidated List and the respective individuals remain subject to an asset freeze. These persons are:
In the same period, the following 3 entries were removed from the Consolidated List and are no longer subject to an asset freeze:
The following entries were removed from the Consolidated List on 15 July 2022 and subsequently readded on 2 August 2022:
Asked by: Jonathan Djanogly (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to Answer of 15 January 2021 to Question 133641 on Hen Harriers, whether she has made an assessment of the implications for her Department's policies of the effectiveness of hen harrier nests on non-RSPB nature reserves in comparison to RSPB nature reserves; and whether she has made an assessment of the reasons why nests were more successful in non-RSPB nature reserves.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
No specific assessment of the effectiveness of our hen harrier recovery policies based on the ownership of land has been made.
Asked by: Jonathan Djanogly (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the value is of Russian Federation state assets frozen in (a) the UK and (b) British Overseas Territories.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Relevant firms are legally obliged to report to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), part of HM Treasury, if they hold frozen assets of a designated person or entity they suspect to be on the list of asset freeze targets.
The aggregate figure of funds reported as frozen under the Russia regime (as at October 2022) in OFSI’s Annual Review, published 10 November 2022 was approximately £18.39 billion. However, the Treasury does not break down the return data by category and/or institution in the manner requested.
The value of frozen funds in the UK can fluctuate for numerous reasons. These include changes to sanctions designations, changes in share or market values, or certain financial activity being licensed.
OFSI is not the competent authority for financial sanctions implementation in the Overseas Territories which are self-governing jurisdictions with their own democratically elected governments, and which are responsible for their own financial services policy. UK sanctions apply in all Overseas Territories. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office work closely with the Territories on implementation of sanctions. The Territories have publicly reported frozen Russian assets with a combined estimated value in excess of US$9bn to date.
Asked by: Jonathan Djanogly (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the value is of the assets of sanctioned Russian nationals frozen in (a) the UK and (b) British Overseas Territories.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Relevant firms are legally obliged to report to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), part of HM Treasury, if they hold frozen assets of a designated person or entity they suspect to be on the list of asset freeze targets.
The aggregate figure of funds reported as frozen under the Russia regime (as at October 2022) in OFSI’s Annual Review, published 10 November 2022 was approximately £18.39 billion. However, the Treasury does not break down the return data by category and/or institution in the manner requested.
The value of frozen funds in the UK can fluctuate for numerous reasons. These include changes to sanctions designations, changes in share or market values, or certain financial activity being licensed.
OFSI is not the competent authority for financial sanctions implementation in the Overseas Territories which are self-governing jurisdictions with their own democratically elected governments, and which are responsible for their own financial services policy. UK sanctions apply in all Overseas Territories. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office work closely with the Territories on implementation of sanctions. The Territories have publicly reported frozen Russian assets with a combined estimated value in excess of US$9bn to date.
Asked by: Jonathan Djanogly (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to streamline the process for the registration of qualified overseas dentists.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
We have worked with the General Dental Council to develop and consult on legislative proposals which provide greater flexibility to amend its existing international registration processes and explore alternative registration pathways, as appropriate. The resulting draft order was laid in Parliament on 11 October 2022 and subject to Parliamentary approval, we expect it to come into force by early 2023.
Asked by: Jonathan Djanogly (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the cost is of maintaining and servicing assets seized under the sanctions regime related to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
HM Treasury does not have powers to seize assets under the Russia sanctions regime, and so incurs no costs in maintaining or servicing assets.
The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, part of HM Treasury, is responsible for implementing financial sanctions in the UK. Where the financial sanction is an asset freeze, it is generally prohibited to:
• deal with the frozen funds or economic resources, belonging to or owned, held or controlled by a designated person
• make funds or economic resources available, directly or indirectly, to, or for the benefit of, a designated person
• engage in actions that, directly or indirectly, circumvent the financial sanctions prohibitions
The funds and economic resources are to be frozen immediately by the person in possession or control of them. An asset freeze does not involve a change in ownership of the frozen funds or economic resources, nor are they confiscated or transferred to HM Treasury for safekeeping.
Asked by: Jonathan Djanogly (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill on the cultivated meat sector.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill will ensure that plants and animals developed using precision breeding technologies in ways which mimic traditional and natural processes, and food and feed products produced from such plants and animals, can be regulated proportionately to risk.
Under this Bill, HM Government intends to introduce simpler regulatory measures to enable food and feed produced from precision bred plants or animals to be brought to market more easily, and we will support our leading scientists to develop plants and animals that are more nutritious, resistant to pests and disease and resilient to extreme temperatures. HM Government acknowledges the potential benefits of innovative protein development and will continue to work together with interested parties including the cultivated meat sector on developments in this area.