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  • Lucy Allan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lucy Allan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lucy Allan on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2016 to Question 30728, what plans HM Revenue and Customs has for the future of its staff currently working in Abbey House and Parkside Court after the expiration of the leases of those buildings.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) occupies Abbey House, Telford, under the terms of its STEPS PFI contract which runs to 2 April 2021. The Department has a rolling agreement with Land Registry to use part of their space at Parkside Court.

    In November 2015, HMRC announced its plans to create a Regional Centre in Birmingham and a Specialist Site in Telford as part of its UK wide Building our Future Locations Programme. HMRC will use flexibility provisions within its occupancy agreements at both Abbey House and Parkside Court to align their closure with the opening of its new facilities. Specialist roles will remain in Telford with others moving to the new Regional Centre.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, on how many occasions in the last five years HM Revenue and Customs officials have raised concerns internally that UK taxpayers who are customers of the (a) High Net Worth Unit and (b) Large Business Unit have received preferential or inappropriate tax treatment as a result of their position.

    Mr David Gauke

    HMRC has a Whistleblowing and Raising a Concern Policy. Since April 2014 concerns raised under this policy have been captured centrally but the data has been captured at a high level and does not have sufficient detail to enable HMRC to reliably identify concerns relating to customers of the High Net Worth Unit and Large Business Unit over the last 5 years.

    HMRC does not offer preferential treatment to any tax payer or group. HMRC is even handed in its treatment of all customers, and manages different customers by allocating its resources to those groups which need more support or present higher risks of not meeting their tax obligations.

  • Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information his Department holds on the reasons for the FCA changing its policy on whether guarantor lenders should have to issue legal default notices on borrowers before collecting money from guarantors as set in PS15/23, of September 2015, to that set in GC16/2, of February 2016.

    Harriett Baldwin

    These are matters for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and relate to FCA Guidance Consultation (GC16/2) issued on the interpretation of provisions in the Consumer Credit Act 1974, regarding whether a default notice should be given to a guarantor before payment is taken from them when a borrower defaults. The FCA is currently considering responses to the consultation and will publish a response after considering the complex issues raised.

  • Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the potential price per share at sale of the Government’s 73 per cent stake in the Royal Bank of Scotland compared to the amount paid per share in 2008.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Government will conduct further sales of RBS shares subject to market conditions, and in doing so will maximise value for the taxpayer.

    The OBR presented an estimate of future proceeds in the March 2016 Budget.

  • Michael Fabricant – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Michael Fabricant – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Fabricant on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the (a) cost of labour and (b) other expenses incurred by his Department was in producing its analysis of costs if the UK were to leave the EU; and how many man hours were required to produce that analysis.

    Mr David Gauke

    The British people are asking for the facts before they decide whether to vote Remain or Leave in the EU referendum. The Treasury’s analysis shows that if the UK leaves the EU, the UK would be permanently poorer and it estimates an annual loss of 6.2% of GDP after 15 years, which is equivalent to £4,300 per UK household.

    The Treasury is appropriately resourced to support the Government’s priorities in Europe. However, it is not practical to identify full-time equivalent staff numbers.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) full-time equivalent civil servants work in his Department and (b) civil servants work full-time on the Northern Powerhouse agenda.

    Harriett Baldwin

    Data for full-time equivalent Civil servants working in HM Treasury are published on .gov.uk and can be found using the link below.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hmt-workforce-management-information-december-2015

    We are unable to supply information on employees who may work on the Northern Powerhouse agenda as our system does not give a breakdown of staff to that level. Therefore to supply this information would be at a disproportionate cost.

    “

  • Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of the rising default rate of companies in the oil and gas sector on their high-yield loans on wider stability of the financial sector.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Chancellor has set out the government’s view on the challenges facing the UK economy at budget on 16 March 2016. The transcript of the speech is available from:

    www.gov.uk/government/speeches/budget-2016-george-osbornes-speech

    In addition, the Bank of England’s December 2015 Financial Stability Report sets out analysis on the exposures of UK banks to commodity sectors. The full report can be found here:

    www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Pages/fsr/2015/dec.aspx

  • Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will bring forward proposals for tighter regulation of companies that carry out payment processing on behalf of payday loan companies.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Government has fundamentally reformed regulation of the consumer credit market, transferring regulatory responsibility from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on 1 April 2014. This more robust regulatory system is helping to deliver the Government’s vision for a well-functioning and sustainable consumer credit market which is able to meet consumers’ needs.

    The FCA has incorporated key elements of OFT guidance on continuous payment authorities (CPAs) into its rules. In particular, firms are required not to use CPA if there is reason to believe that there are insufficient funds in the borrower’s account, or that this will leave insufficient funds for priority debts or other essential living expenses. Lenders must also show forbearance if there is evidence of financial difficulty.

    The FCA have introduced rules to limit payday lenders’ use of CPAs to two unsuccessful attempts to withdraw funds from the customer’s account. The FCA has also banned CPA part payment, so that a lender can only take payment if the whole owed sum is available in the customer’s account. The FCA can use its flexible rule-making powers to take further action where it deems necessary to protect consumers.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the anti-trust implications of the proposed merger between the London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Börse.

    Harriett Baldwin

    Once formally notified of the proposed merger, the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority (as supervisors of the London Stock Exchange Group’s UK-authorised subsidiaries) must assess the proposal from a regulatory standpoint.

    In addition the proposed merger must be approved by competition authorities and is subject to a range of other assessments including those of overseas regulators and shareholders.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the implications for economic security of the proposed merger between the London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Börse.

    Harriett Baldwin

    Once formally notified of the proposed merger, the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority (as supervisors of the London Stock Exchange Group’s UK-authorised subsidiaries) must assess the proposal from a regulatory standpoint.

    In addition the proposed merger must be approved by competition authorities and is subject to a range of other assessments including those of overseas regulators and shareholders.