Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have (1) taken, and (2) are taking, to introduce a digital tax; and what representations they have received on the matter from the government of the United States.
Answered by Earl of Courtown - Captain of the Queen's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
At Budget 2018 the Government announced that the Digital Services Tax would be implemented from April 2020. Following this announcement the Government carried out consultation, and published draft legislation in July 2019. The Government is now reviewing this legislation.
Government ministers and officials maintain regular contact with the US administration on a range of issues but cannot disclose the topic of specific conversations.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Ministers or officials will be attending the 2020 World Economic Forum in Davos.
Answered by Earl of Courtown - Captain of the Queen's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The 2020 Annual Meetings of the World Economic Forum took place from 21-24 January in Davos.
The Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer, was the only Minister to attend this year. The Chancellor was accompanied by two Special Advisers and two officials.
Sir Edward Lister, Prime Minister’s Chief Strategic Adviser and Antonia Romeo, the Permanent Secretary at the Department for International Trade, were also in attendance.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect of the one per cent interest rate rise on the Public Works Loan Board 50-year new maturity loan.
Answered by Earl of Courtown - Captain of the Queen's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
In raising interest rates for new loans from the Public Works Loan Board, the Treasury assessed the potential impact on local government capital plans. Local authorities continue to benefit from very favourable interest rates on Public Works Loan Board loans. This increase returned Public Works Loan Board rates to levels that were available in 2018.
The Government will continue to work with individual authorities on a case-by-case basis if they raise concerns over their financial position.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many qualified customs agents there are; and what assessment they have made of the adequacy of that number.
Answered by Earl of Courtown - Captain of the Queen's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The customs intermediaries sector in the UK is unregulated and there is no requirement for registration or qualification, so the precise volume of qualified agents is complex to establish. HMRC have engaged extensively with the customs intermediaries sector on the sector’s concerns about demand for customs broker services post-EU exit and a possible short-fall in capacity. That is why HMRC have made £34m available to support the sector with training, improvements in automation, and recruitment of customs agents. This has funded approximately 2200 training courses to train staff in customs process and procedures, and funded the creation of a new UK Customs Academy which will provide online training courses and industry-recognised qualifications. The grant schemes remain open until 31 January 2020.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the regulations concerning credit unions.
Answered by Earl of Courtown - Captain of the Queen's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
In 2014, the Government undertook a call for evidence to understand the appropriate steps that could be taken to support the credit union sector. Subsequently, the maximum interest a credit union can charge on loans was raised from 2% to 3% per month, and the upper limit on the geographical common bond was raised from 2 to 3 million people.
The Government continues to be open to considering the case for further reform. ABCUL, the sector’s largest trade body, is currently carrying out a sector-wide consultation which is due to conclude later this year. HMT will consider its conclusions in the development of future credit union policy.
At Autumn Budget 2018, the Government announced a package of measures to support credit unions, and other social and community lenders, including:
The PRA have also proposed a simplified, proportional capital requirement regime for credit unions in their recently published consultation.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the total (1) number, and (2) amount, of fines that have been imposed on banks and other companies in the financial sector since 2015; and what the money collected has been used for.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
Information on the fines imposed on financial sector firms can be found on the FCA’s website.
Between financial years 2015/16 and 2018/19 the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority have levied a total of 37 fines on banks and other financial sector firms. The total amount fined over this four year period was one billion, three hundred and sixty seven million pounds.
Since 2015 money from these fines, minus enforcement costs, has been transferred directly to the Government’s consolidated fund. Fine income entering the Consolidated Fund is not earmarked for any specific purpose but is instead part of the Government’s total revenues. Government revenues are used to pay for all Government spending on public services.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of people who have no form of bank account in the UK and the additional costs such people incur to access certain goods and services.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The Government takes financial inclusion very seriously and is working to ensure everyone can have access to useful and affordable financial services, including a bank account.
The Treasury does not make assessments of the number of people who do not have a bank account or the additional costs that may be incurred. However, in 2017, the Financial Conduct Authority published the results of the Financial Lives Survey which found that 1.3 million UK adults were unbanked, i.e. have no current account or alternative e-money account.
The Financial Lives Survey report contains further information on the characteristics of the unbanked. The report analyses survey results across the four nations of the UK, the nine regions of England, and by rural and urban areas. The FCA intend to repeat the Financial Lives Survey on a regular basis in future.
However, the nine largest personal current account providers in the UK are legally required to offer fee-free basic bank accounts to customers who do not have a bank account or who are ineligible for a bank’s standard current account. Accounts have all the standard payment features such as Direct Debits and Standing Orders, though no overdraft or cheque book facilities. The Treasury’s December 2018 publication shows that in total there are nearly 7.5 million basic bank accounts open in the UK.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the charges levied on customers by UK banks.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The Treasury does not make assessments on the charges levied on customers by UK banks because in most circumstances fees and charges are commercial decisions for the bank.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, whether they are considering an alternative to business rates.
Answered by Lord Bates
The government keeps all taxes under review.
The government completed a fundamental review of business rates in 2016. Respondents were in favour of retaining a property based tax, and agreed that business rates are easy to collect, difficult to avoid, stable, and clearly linked to local government spending.
Alternative taxes were proposed, but there was no consensus on these options and respondents were clear that they each presented their own significant challenges. At Budget 2018 the government announced Our Plan for the High Street, which includes a new retail discount cutting eligible retailers’ business rates bills by a third for two years from April 2019.
Asked by: Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of challenger banks on the retail banking sector in the UK.
Answered by Lord Bates
Government recognises the crucial role challenger banks play in increasing competition in the retail banking sector by providing customers with more choice on the high street. Current Account Switch Service (CASS) statistics show that some challenger banks have featured amongst the firms with the highest net gains, which indicates the positive impact that they are having on customer choice. Government will continue to encourage an environment that allows challenger banks to thrive.