Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many appeals related to business rates the Valuation Office has received from businesses in England in the most recent year for which figures are available; and of those appeals how many reached a conclusion requiring a new business rate to be set.
Answered by Jane Ellison
Statistics on the number of formal challenges received by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) against the 2010 Local Rating List Rateable Values, split by quarters and local authorities are published on the VOA website. The latest published information for challenges received in England is available to view at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/non-domestic-rating-challenges-and-changes-england-and-wales-december-2016-experimental.
The following table shows figures for challenges received between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2016, and those resolved resulting in a change to the Rateable Value in the rating list in England.
1 Jan 2016 to 31 Dec 2016 |
| |
Received | 80,420 |
|
Resolved, resulting in a change to the list | 3,770 |
|
Counts are rounded to the nearest 10 with counts of 0 being reported as 0 and count fewer than 5 reported as negligible and denoted by '-'.
Information about whether changes in Rateable Values resulted in changes in business rates bills is not held by the VOA, as local councils are responsible for calculating the rates bill and applying any reliefs.
Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many appeals related to business rates the Valuation Office has received from businesses in Tonbridge and Malling constituency in the most recent year for which figures are available; and of those appeals how many reached a conclusion requiring a new business rate to be set.
Answered by Jane Ellison
Statistics on the number of formal challenges received by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) against the 2010 Local Rating List Rateable Values split by quarters and local authorities are published on the VOA website. The latest published statistics at Billing Authority level on challenges received up to 30 September 2016 are available to view at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/569288/NDR_2010_Challenges_and_Changes.xls
VOA data is not held in a way that allows it to be broken down by parliamentary constituency, and statistical estimates can be produced only at disproportionate cost. However, the following table shows figures for challenges received between 1 January and 31 December 2016, and those resolved resulting in a change to the Rateable Value in the rating list, for the local authorities of Tonbridge & Malling and Sevenoaks.
1 Jan 2016 to 31 Dec 2016 |
| |
Received | 270 |
|
Resolved, resulting in a change to the list | 20 |
|
Counts are rounded to the nearest 10 with counts of 0 being reported as 0 and count fewer than 5 reported as negligible and denoted by '-'.
Information about whether changes in Rateable Values resulted in changes in business rates bills is not held by the VOA, as local councils are responsible for calculating the rates bill and applying any reliefs.
Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he expects the review by the Financial Conduct Authority into the Royal Bank of Scotland's Global Restructuring Group to be published; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Simon Kirby
As announced by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in October, it has now received the final report from the appointed skilled person. It will consider the report’s findings along with all of the relevant material before making its findings publicly available.
Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure full transparency of all charges relating to personal private pensions.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
This question has been passed on to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA will reply to directly to the Honourable member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information his Department holds on the annual cost of commission and other charges levied by financial advisers during the sale of financial products to individuals in the last five years.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
Adviser remuneration is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Through the Retail Distribution Review (RDR), introduced at the end of 2012, the FCA has taken a number of steps to ensure that adviser remuneration on retail investment business is disclosed in advance of any services required. Product providers no longer have any influence over the remuneration received for advising on investments. Where commission remains on investments sold prior to the RDR, this will have been disclosed as required by the rules in force at the time the product was sold.
Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department has taken to ensure transparency of commission and other charges levied by financial advisers on individual pension plans.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
Adviser remuneration is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Through the Retail Distribution Review (RDR), introduced at the end of 2012, the FCA has taken a number of steps to ensure that adviser remuneration on retail investment business is disclosed in advance of any services required. Product providers no longer have any influence over the remuneration received for advising on investments. Where commission remains on investments sold prior to the RDR, this will have been disclosed as required by the rules in force at the time the product was sold.
Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department has taken to ensure transparency of commission and other charges levied by financial advisers during the sale of financial products to individuals.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
Adviser remuneration is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Through the Retail Distribution Review (RDR), introduced at the end of 2012, the FCA has taken a number of steps to ensure that adviser remuneration on retail investment business is disclosed in advance of any services required. Product providers no longer have any influence over the remuneration received for advising on investments. Where commission remains on investments sold prior to the RDR, this will have been disclosed as required by the rules in force at the time the product was sold.
Asked by: Tom Tugendhat (Conservative - Tonbridge and Malling)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department has taken to measure the annual cost of commission and other charges levied on individual private pension plans by financial advisers in the last five years.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
Adviser remuneration is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Through the Retail Distribution Review (RDR), introduced at the end of 2012, the FCA has taken a number of steps to ensure that adviser remuneration on retail investment business is disclosed in advance of any services required. Product providers no longer have any influence over the remuneration received for advising on investments. Where commission remains on investments sold prior to the RDR, this will have been disclosed as required by the rules in force at the time the product was sold.