Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the findings of the review by Jonathan Laidlaw QC on Lloyd's Banking Group's compensation scheme for the victims of the HBOS Reading fraud, published by SME Alliance on 18 December 2018.
Answered by John Glen
Compensation offers have been made to all customers in scope of the compensation scheme for victims of the HBOS Reading fraud, with 90% of customers accepting their offer. However, as Jonathan Laidlaw’s review highlights - the scheme has not commanded public confidence. That is why I welcomed Lloyds’ commitment – in agreement with the FCA – to commission a post-completion review to quality-assure the methodology and process of the Griggs compensation scheme for victims of the HBOS Reading fraud. I am pleased to hear that Lloyds Banking Group have recently announced that this process will be led by former High Court judge, Sir Ross Cranston.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of preparations for the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
HM Treasury has allocated over £4.2 billion of additional funding to departments and the Devolved Administrations for EU exit preparations so far. This breaks down as:
£412m of additional funding over the spending review period for the Department for Exiting the European Union, Department for International Trade and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office at Autumn Statement 2016.
£286m of additional funding for 17/18 (a full breakdown of which can be found in Supplementary Estimates 17/18). (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/679738/PU2137_Supplementary_estimates_web.pdf)
Over £1.5bn of additional funding for 18/19. A full breakdown of the allocations can be found in the Chief Secretary’s Written Ministerial Statement, HCWS540, laid on the 13th March 2018. (https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2018-03-13/HCWS540/)
Over £2bn of additional funding for 19/20. A full breakdown of the allocations can be found in the Chief Secretary’s Written Ministerial Statement, HCWS1205, laid on the 18th December 2018. (https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2018-12-18/HCWS1205/)
This funding is to cover all exit scenarios, and is in addition to departmental efforts to reprioritise from business as usual toward preparations for the UK’s departure from the EU.
Work on no-deal exit preparations cannot be readily separated from other EU exit work. The Department is preparing for all eventualities and the resources available to support preparations are kept under constant review.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff (a) are employed now at the new customs offices opened in RAF Akrotiri and RAF Larnaca in Cyprus, Portsmouth, Exeter Airport, Newhaven and Fishguard and (b) will be employed once fully operational; and how many of the staff (i) are newly recruited or redeployed and (ii) will be newly recruited or redeployed.
Answered by Mel Stride - Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
HMRC has not opened any new offices in these locations, where existing estate is exclusively occupied by other government departments. HMRC attendance at these locations is decided on a risk basis.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the purpose is of the new UK customs post opened at Fishguard in relation to goods transported on the Rosslare-Fishguard ferry.
Answered by Mel Stride - Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
HMRC has not opened a new customs post at the port of Fishguard.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many Economic Operator Registration and Identification numbers have been issued by HMRC to (a) VAT-registered and (b) non-VAT-registered UK exporters to EU countries in preparation for the UK leaving the EU.
Answered by Mel Stride - Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
UK traders that only trade with the EU will need an EORI number in the event the UK leaves the EU without a deal. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) estimated that in 2017 there were 144,000 VAT-registered traders that only traded with the EU. A separate estimate indicates there are around 100,000 non VAT-registered traders that trade only with the EU. Latest HMRC validated data show that in the three months to 15 March, there were more than 59,000 registrations for an EORI number.
The Government recently announced temporary simplified procedures to make importing and exporting easier. To register for these simplifications, traders will need a UK EORI number. Therefore, completing the application is a good first step for traders, and ensures that our records are correct.
Registering for an EORI number is free and very quick – it currently takes around 10 minutes.