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  • Kirsten Oswald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Kirsten Oswald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2015-12-08.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he became aware that Connaught Fund investors pursuing compensation awarded by the Financial Ombudsman Service are having their professional indemnity claims rejected because the Financial Conduct Authority handbook IPRU-INV sch13 allows independent financial advisers to operate with insurer-imposed restrictions on their insurance that exclude schemes the adviser had already recommended to clients.

    Harriett Baldwin

    This is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is operationally independent from Government.

    This question has been passed on to the FCA. They will reply directly to the Honourable Member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Kirsten Oswald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2015-12-08.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he has received on the provisions in the Financial Conduct Authority handbook IPRU-INV sch13 which allows independent financial advisers and insurers to retrospectively exclude failed schemes from an IFA’s professional indemnity insurance.

    Harriett Baldwin

    Treasury Ministers and officials occasionally receive representations on regulatory issues.

    As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Treasury’s practice to provide details of all such discussions.

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Kirsten Oswald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2015-12-08.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he is satisfied that the Financial Conduct Authority’s minimum professional indemnity insurance requirements for Independent Financial Advisers provide investors with adequate protection for medium and long-term investments.

    Harriett Baldwin

    This is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is operationally independent from Government.

    This question has been passed on to the FCA. They will reply directly to the Honourable Member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Kirsten Oswald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2015-12-08.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which designated professional bodies have professional indemnity insurance requirements compliant with clause 2.3 of the Financial Conduct Authority handbook PRU-INV sch13.

    Harriett Baldwin

    This is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is operationally independent from Government.

    This question has been passed on to the FCA. They will reply directly to the Honourable Member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Kirsten Oswald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2015-12-08.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of (a) the number of investors who lost money in the collapse of the Connaught Fund and (b) their combined loss.

    Harriett Baldwin

    This is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is operationally independent from Government.

    This question has been passed on to the FCA. They will reply directly to the Honourable Member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

  • Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-12-08.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, on which date his Department announced the creation of each enterprise zone in (a) urban and (b) rural areas of each region; and what plans he has to create new enterprise zones in what (i) rural and (ii) urban areas.

    Greg Hands

    26 new and extended Enterprise Zones were announced by the Chancellor in his Autumn Statement on 25 November, details of which are available on gov.uk. The government has provided feedback to those Local Enterprise Partnerships that were unsuccessful in their applications, and where possible, will work with them to consider how the proposals could be improved.

  • Steve McCabe – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Steve McCabe – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-12-08.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what legal and regulatory obligations apply to members of the public identified by banks as Politically Exposed Persons; and what information his Department holds on how such people are identified by banks.

    Harriett Baldwin

    At present, only foreign Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) are subject to the Money Laundering Regulations (2007). The Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, which will be transposed into national law by June 2017, requires enhanced customer due diligence (EDD) measures to also be extended to domestic PEPs. We intend to interpret the Directive in a way that continues to allow banks to apply a “risk-based approach” to both the identification and application of EDD measures. This involves treating UK PEPs on the basis of risk when undertaking due diligence measures. We intend to set out this view in our consultation on transposition of the Directive which will be published in early 2016.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 3.15 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, what steps he plans to take to address the effects of regional variation in council tax revenue on funding for social care under the proposed council tax precept for social care.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    It is for local authorities to allocate funding to individual services from their overall budget. In recognition of increasing demand for social services, the Spending Review announced an ambitious plan to integrate health and social care across the country by 2020, and a £3.5 billion package to support local authorities with responsibility for adult social care to meet the needs of their local population. This includes giving councils the additional freedom to introduce a social care precept onto council tax bills, which local authorities with responsibility for Adult Social Care services can choose to take up from 2016-17. The consultation on the provisional local government finance settlement will soon be published and it will include proposed changes to rebalance support, including to those authorities with social care responsibilities, by taking into account the main resources available to councils.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2015-12-08.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to obtain a reduction or removal of VAT on children’s headstones and planters in cemeteries; and if he will donate the proceeds of such VAT to charities aiding parents and other family members of children who have died.

    Mr David Gauke

    The goods and services to which the government may apply a reduced rate of VAT are set out in Annex III of the Principal VAT Directive.

    When the UK joined the European Community, the government successfully negotiated for zero rates on certain goods and services such as children’s clothing, most foods and the construction of new housing. However, EU VAT rules do not provide for the introduction of any new zero rates, or the extension of our existing ones, without the unanimous agreement of all 28 Member States.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-12-08.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment on the financial effect on the UK manufacturing sector of reductions to (a) capital allowances and (b) corporation tax since 2010.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government recognises the importance of the manufacturing sector in the UK economy.

    In order to support investment across the economy, including in the manufacturing sector, since 2010, the Government has reduced the corporation tax rate from 28% to 20%, and it is due to fall to 18% in 2020. Overall the corporation tax cuts delivered since 2010 will save businesses £10 billion a year from 2016. Further cuts in the corporation tax rate in this Parliament, to 19% in 2017 and 18% in 2020, will save small and large businesses a further £6.6 billion by 2021, and will benefit 1.1 million businesses. The manufacturing sector, alongside other sectors of the economy, have benefited from the corporation tax rate changes.

    At Summer Budget 2015, the government announced that it would increase the permanent level of the Annual Investment Allowance to £200,000, its highest ever permanent level. The sectors with most companies benefitting include manufacturing as well as wholesale and retail, and agriculture.