Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much and what proportion of the UK's subscribed capital to the European Investment Bank has been returned; how much subscribed capital remains to be returned; and when this capital will be returned.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Details of the return of the UK’s subscribed capital to the European Investment Bank can be found in the European Union Finances Statement 2022.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2023 to Question 153706, when he plans to re-channel the outstanding balance of Special Drawing Rights (SDR) 500 million under the SDR 4 billion; and which multilateral institution he plans to commit those SDR to.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK has committed to channelling 4bn Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) to countries most in need and has so far announced commitments of SDR 1bn to the IMF’s Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust and SDR 2.5bn to the IMF’s Resilience and Sustainability Trust. The Government will continue to carefully consider the best option for channelling our remaining SDR 500m.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which regulatory agencies have responsibility for protecting defence-critical processor manufacturers from (a) short-selling attacks by hostile foreign states and (b) short seller campaign groups.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK’s Short Selling Regulation (SSR), introduced in 2012, regulates the short selling of shares in companies that are admitted to trading in the UK (and UK sovereign debt), while safeguarding public companies and the financial system. The Government believes that short selling plays an important and beneficial role in the orderly and effective functioning of financial markets, by supporting liquidity and risk management and increasing market confidence. The SSR requires firms to report to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on short selling activity and provides the FCA with powers to apply penalties, and to restrict short selling in exceptional circumstances.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what commitments the Government has made to share or re-channel the UK’s allocation of IMF Special Drawing Rights.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given on 6 March to his Question 153706.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many investigations have been initiated by the Office for Financial Sanctions Implementation into civil breaches of financial sanctions since February 2022.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Details of reports of potential financial sanctions breaches considered in 2021-2022 are included in OFSI’s latest annual review which is available on GOV.UK. Updated figures will be provided in the next annual review.
Breaches of financial sanctions are a criminal offence and OFSI continues to assess every reported suspected breach of UK sanctions regulations. OFSI does not initiate criminal investigations into suspected breaches. Where criminal investigation is appropriate, referrals are made to relevant law enforcement partners.
Companies and individuals looking to circumvent sanctions may have a specific interest in the number of law enforcement referrals arising from reports of suspected sanctions breaches. The disclosure of any information which could prejudice OFSI’s enforcement responsibilities would not be in the public interest and may aid crimes such as the circumvention of financial sanctions.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many investigations into criminal breaches of financial sanctions have been initiated since February 2022.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Details of reports of potential financial sanctions breaches considered in 2021-2022 are included in OFSI’s latest annual review which is available on GOV.UK. Updated figures will be provided in the next annual review.
Breaches of financial sanctions are a criminal offence and OFSI continues to assess every reported suspected breach of UK sanctions regulations. OFSI does not initiate criminal investigations into suspected breaches. Where criminal investigation is appropriate, referrals are made to relevant law enforcement partners.
Companies and individuals looking to circumvent sanctions may have a specific interest in the number of law enforcement referrals arising from reports of suspected sanctions breaches. The disclosure of any information which could prejudice OFSI’s enforcement responsibilities would not be in the public interest and may aid crimes such as the circumvention of financial sanctions.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the fiscal impact of using callable capital subscribed by the UK to multi-lateral development banks in order to increase the lending capacity of those banks.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Callable capital is a unique instrument that many International Financial Institutions (IFIs) benefit from. HM Treasury and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office record callable capital as a remote contingent liability within their published annual reports and accounts. These remote contingent liabilities are subject to call only when required and to the extent necessary to meet the obligations of the IFIs on borrowings of funds or guarantees. The equity base of each IFI allows the institutions to meet their financial objectives by absorbing risk out of their own resources and protecting member countries from a possible call on callable capital. No call has ever been made on the IFIs’ callable capital stock to date.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what (a) paid in and (b) callable capital the Government has subscribed under treaty obligations to multi-lateral development banks.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The United Kingdom is a member of several multilateral development banks (MDBs). Depending on the bank, the paid-in and callable capital obligations appear in the published Annual Reports and Accounts of either the Foreign, Common and Development Office or HM Treasury.
Treaty obligations between MDBs and member countries are usually denominated in US Dollars, so these Pound Sterling figures are approximations by necessity.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of on-lending 50 per cent of the UK’s most recent allocation of Special Drawing Rights, through IMF established re-channelling vehicles, on his annual fiscal policies.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK is a leading global advocate of Special Drawing Rights (SDR) channelling, and has committed to an ambitious channelling envelope of 4bn from the SDRs received through the 2021 General Allocation, which took place under the UK’s G7 Presidency. Within this SDR 4bn, the government has already committed 3.5bn SDRs to IMF lending instruments, namely the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust and the Resilience and Sustainability Trust. The UK’s pledge to re-channel 20% of new SDRs is in accordance with the principle of fair burden sharing across all countries with strong external positions and has been pivotal in mobilising further commitments.
The UK’s SDRs are held as part of the Government’s reserves in the Exchange Equalisation Account (EEA). Reserves in the EEA have clearly defined functions as set out in the EEA Act 1979, and the government considers the current size of the reserves appropriate to meeting these.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many sanctioned individuals have been granted sanctions waivers to finance legal costs in (a) 2021 and (b) 2022.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) does not disclose data from specific licences it has granted under UK sanctions regimes. Information about numbers of licences granted can be found in OFSI’s Annual Review which is publicly available on OFSI’s website.