Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions his Department has had with the (a) Bank of England, (b) Prudential Regulation Authority and (c) Financial Conduct Authority on the potential impact of removing the support factor for SME lending.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
The Government is currently consulting on its proposals for Basel 3.1. This includes proposals for deleting retained EU law including those which relate to the prudential rules on SME lending. The detailed implementation of the Basel package however, has been delegated to the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) as the UK’s expert regulator. The PRA is consulting under an accountability framework agreed by Parliament, and has requested information from firms on specific measures including those relating to lending to SMEs.
The consultation can be found here:
The Government continues to work closely with the PRA and businesses to understand the impact of potential changes including for the international competitiveness of the UK, the impact on SME lending and the nature of competition between banks that operate in the domestic market.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the civil service headcount for their Department was on (a) 15 November 2022 and (b) 1 February 2020.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
The number of Civil Servants employed by HM Treasury as at the closest month end dates to those requested are:
Date | Paid Headcount |
31/01/2020 | 1601 |
31/10/2022 | 2080 |
National Statistics on Civil Service employment numbers, both overall and by department, are published each quarter by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) as part of their Public Sector Employment statistical release.
The latest figures were published 13 September 2022 and showed the position as at 30 June 2022. The next figures will be published 13 December for the end of September position.
More timely workforce information is also published by departments in the interests of transparency on gov.uk each month. This monthly workforce management information (MWMI) includes additional breakdowns on department and agency employment numbers e.g. showing contingent labour, grade breakdowns and associated costs.
The department continued to grow throughout 2020-21, as work on planning the transition from our exit from the EU continued and the department responded to the COVID-19 crisis. In 2021-22 the Treasury continued to respond to COVID-19 and to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and took on new responsibilities such as the establishment of the UK Infrastructure Bank, as well as setting up the new economic campus in Darlington. The size of the Treasury’s workforce in 2021- 22 remained broadly consistent with that of the previous year.
Treasury will meet its departmental Spending Review commitments, in doing this we will continue to seek opportunities for efficiencies, in line with the steer in the Autumn Statement.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many employees in his Department work on matters related to covid-19.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
HMT takes a flexible and dynamic approach to resourcing in order to meet Government priorities. Many staff working on matters related to COVID-19 do so alongside its other policy priorities. We do not routinely record the number of full time equivalent civil servants who work on individual policy initiatives.
As at end March 2022, HM Treasury had 2,045 paid full time equivalent staff https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1092103/HMT_Annual_Report_and_Accounts_2021-22.pdf
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will detail the losses and special payments valued at under £300,000 for his departmental group as defined by section A4.10.7 in his Department's guidance, Managing Public Money, for (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20 and (c) 2020-21.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The department has recorded losses and special payments below £300,000 for the years in question as follows:
2020-21 | 2019-20 | 2018-19 |
£127,481 | £89,850 | £146,936 |
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to ensure that his Department and its agencies remove all internal covid-19 related policies, restrictions and mask mandates.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
Throughout the pandemic, the Treasury has followed government guidance in setting out its internal COVID-19 related policies. The Treasury continues to follow this guidance and align its policies accordingly.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will have discussions with the Financial Conduct Authority on the merits that digital assets can bring to UK economy.
Answered by John Glen
Certain cryptoassets, offering new ways to transact and invest, are part of a trend of rapid innovation in financial technology. However, these developments also present new challenges and risks – including risks to consumers and to financial system. HM Treasury engages regularly with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on opportunities, risks and regulatory issues posed by cryptoassets.
The Government established a Cryptoassets Taskforce in 2018, consisting of HM Treasury, the Bank of England and the FCA. The Cryptoasset Taskforce is responsible for assessing developments in the cryptoasset market, and deciding what, if any, regulation is required in response. HM Treasury and UK authorities, including the FCA, have taken a series of actions to support innovation while mitigating risks to stability, market integrity, and consumers. These include launching a new anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regime for cryptoassets in 2020, overseen by the FCA; confirming an intention to legislate to regulate cryptoasset promotions, ensuring they are fair, clear and not misleading, the rules for which will be set by the FCA; and consulting on a proposal to ensure cryptoassets known as ‘stablecoins’ meet the same high standards expected of other payment methods. The Government will issue a response to this consultation shortly.
The Government has adopted a staged and proportionate approach to cryptoassets regulation, which is sensitive to risks posed, and responsive to new developments in the market. The Government is carefully considering what, if any, regulation might need to follow as the cryptoasset market grows and evolves in the UK.
The use of tokens to facilitate securities transactions is an important development for the financial sector. The representation of traditional securities, such as equities or debt, on a distributed ledger (the ‘tokenisation’ of assets) could have substantial implications for the way assets are traded or capital is raised. A firm or sole practitioner that issues securities on the blockchain will fall within scope of the Money Laundering Regulations (MLRs) if it provides the services of a cryptoasset exchange provider “by way of business”. To comply with the MLRs, cryptoasset firms must demonstrate systems, controls, policies and procedures adequate to deal with the particular risks of the cryptoasset market.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what comparative assessment his Department has made of the Financial Conduct Authority's role in protecting consumers of digital assets and the effect of regulation on stimulating technological innovation.
Answered by John Glen
Certain cryptoassets, offering new ways to transact and invest, are part of a trend of rapid innovation in financial technology. However, these developments also present new challenges and risks – including risks to consumers and to financial system. HM Treasury engages regularly with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on opportunities, risks and regulatory issues posed by cryptoassets.
The Government established a Cryptoassets Taskforce in 2018, consisting of HM Treasury, the Bank of England and the FCA. The Cryptoasset Taskforce is responsible for assessing developments in the cryptoasset market, and deciding what, if any, regulation is required in response. HM Treasury and UK authorities, including the FCA, have taken a series of actions to support innovation while mitigating risks to stability, market integrity, and consumers. These include launching a new anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regime for cryptoassets in 2020, overseen by the FCA; confirming an intention to legislate to regulate cryptoasset promotions, ensuring they are fair, clear and not misleading, the rules for which will be set by the FCA; and consulting on a proposal to ensure cryptoassets known as ‘stablecoins’ meet the same high standards expected of other payment methods. The Government will issue a response to this consultation shortly.
The Government has adopted a staged and proportionate approach to cryptoassets regulation, which is sensitive to risks posed, and responsive to new developments in the market. The Government is carefully considering what, if any, regulation might need to follow as the cryptoasset market grows and evolves in the UK.
The use of tokens to facilitate securities transactions is an important development for the financial sector. The representation of traditional securities, such as equities or debt, on a distributed ledger (the ‘tokenisation’ of assets) could have substantial implications for the way assets are traded or capital is raised. A firm or sole practitioner that issues securities on the blockchain will fall within scope of the Money Laundering Regulations (MLRs) if it provides the services of a cryptoasset exchange provider “by way of business”. To comply with the MLRs, cryptoasset firms must demonstrate systems, controls, policies and procedures adequate to deal with the particular risks of the cryptoasset market.