Asked by: Pat McFadden (Labour - Wolverhampton South East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has granted licenses to (a) any members of the Wagner Group or (b) any individuals who are subject to sanctions because of their association with the Kremlin to pursue legal actions in UK courts.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
OFSI publishes the number of financial sanctions licences issued in its Annual Review which is publicly available from OFSI’s website. OFSI will publish the latest figures in the next Annual Review in due course.
OFSI does not publish the names of designated persons or applicants who have been granted specific licences. Licensing conditions are decided on a case-by-case basis.
Asked by: Pat McFadden (Labour - Wolverhampton South East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he is taking steps to investigate allegations that his Department assisted Yevgeny Prigozhin to pursue libel action against Eliot Higgins.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
HM Treasury does not comment on individual licensing cases.
HM Treasury’s Office for Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) takes operational decisions relating to the implementation of financial sanctions in line with the relevant regulations. OFSI has not considered it appropriate for the Treasury to effectively decide on whether a case has sufficient merit to be permitted to proceed by deciding whether to license legal fees. Rather, OFSI's position has been that the merits should be decided by the appropriate court. OFSI assesses cases on a costs-basis only, ensuring that the fees requested are reasonable in accordance with the derogations available under the sanctions regimes.
We need to carefully balance the right to legal representation - which is a fundamental one - with wider issues, including the aim and purpose of the sanctions. It is right therefore that Ministers are examining whether there are any changes that can be made to this policy.
Asked by: Pat McFadden (Labour - Wolverhampton South East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what procedures his Department uses to investigate the merits of applications made by individuals subject to sanctions for licenses which allow them to use UK courts.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
HM Treasury does not comment on individual licensing cases.
HM Treasury’s Office for Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) takes operational decisions relating to the implementation of financial sanctions in line with the relevant regulations. OFSI has not considered it appropriate for the Treasury to effectively decide on whether a case has sufficient merit to be permitted to proceed by deciding whether to license legal fees. Rather, OFSI's position has been that the merits should be decided by the appropriate court. OFSI assesses cases on a costs-basis only, ensuring that the fees requested are reasonable in accordance with the derogations available under the sanctions regimes.
We need to carefully balance the right to legal representation - which is a fundamental one - with wider issues, including the aim and purpose of the sanctions. It is right therefore that Ministers are examining whether there are any changes that can be made to this policy.
Asked by: Pat McFadden (Labour - Wolverhampton South East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many permissions for legal costs have been issued to Russian sanctioned individuals by the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) publishes the number of financial sanctions licences issued in its Annual Review. Information about the total number of licences and the total number of legal fees licences that OFSI has granted for the last five financial years can be found in OFSI’s Annual Review documents, which are publicly available on OFSI’s website. OFSI will publish the latest figures in the next Annual Review in due course. OFSI does not publish details about individual licences granted, including source and quantum of funds licensed.
Asked by: Pat McFadden (Labour - Wolverhampton South East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many permissions for legal costs have been issued to sanctioned individuals by the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) publishes the number of financial sanctions licences issued in its Annual Review. Information about the total number of licences and the total number of legal fees licences that OFSI has granted for the last five financial years can be found in OFSI’s Annual Review documents, which are publicly available on OFSI’s website. OFSI will publish the latest figures in the next Annual Review in due course. OFSI does not publish details about individual licences granted, including source and quantum of funds licensed.
Asked by: Pat McFadden (Labour - Wolverhampton South East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the report by the Antisemitism Policy Trust entitled Antisemitism and Cryptocurrency: A perfect Union, published in 2022, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the use of cryptocurrency by (a) terrorist, (b) criminal and (c) other groups; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
Since January 2020 the FCA has been the Anti Money Laundering and Counter Terrorist Financing supervisor of UK cryptoasset activity. By maintaining a robust gateway for firms seeking to register for cryptoasset activity in the UK, we continue to reduce and prevent the financing of criminal and terrorist groups.
The government’s ambition is for the UK to be home to the most open, well-regulated, and technologically advanced capital markets in the world. However, recognising that there are both risks and opportunities associated with cryptoassets, the UK has adopted a staged, proportionate and agile approach to regulation, which is sensitive to risks posed, including the risk of financial crime, and responsive to new developments in the market.
This year a new regulatory measure known as the ‘travel rule’ comes into effect, ensuring that virtual-asset transfers are accompanied by detailed personal information of both the originator and beneficiary. The new requirements will apply to crypto-asset exchange providers and custodian wallet providers and will help remove some of the anonymity associated with private wallet addresses.
Asked by: Pat McFadden (Labour - Wolverhampton South East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to table E.2 in the Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021, HC 822, published on 27 October 2021, how much is budgeted in the reserve for the (a) 2022-23, (b) 2023-24 and (c) 2024-25 financial years.
Answered by John Glen
At Autumn Statement the latest Resource and Capital figures were published for the reserves in financial years (a) 2022-23, (b) 2023-24 and (c) 2024-25. These can be found in Table 2.1 and 2.2 of the Autumn Statement 2022 document and are as follows:
Resource budgets (excluding depreciation) - £10.7 billion (2022-23), £13.9 billion (2023-24) and £12.9 billion (2024-25).
Capital budgets - £4.1 billion (2022-23), £3.3 billion (2023-24) and £3.2 billion (2024-25).