The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Trefgarne on 2016-05-09.
To ask the Leader of the House whether she is satisfied with the existing Standing Orders relating to the consideration of primary legislation in its later stages, and if not, whether she will refer that matter to the Procedure Committee.
Baroness Stowell of Beeston
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. I will write directly to my Rt Hon. Friend.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Oates on 2016-05-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the report of the Academy of Royal Medical Colleges in February 2015, Exercise: The miracle cure and the role of the doctor in promoting it, and how that assessment has informed their policy making.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The evidence and messages in the report of the Academy of Royal Medical Colleges align with the United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers’ (CMOs) guidelines for physical activity and Public Health England’s physical activity framework ‘Everybody Active Every Day’ both of which highlight the key role of health professionals in promoting physical activity.
The Government is committed to raising awareness of the UK CMOs guidelines and the benefits of physical activity amongst the public and health professionals. The CMO recently launched a new infographic specifically designed to help health professionals to discuss the benefits of physical activity with their patients. The Government also has in place a range of other programmes to support doctors in the promotion of physical activity. These include e-learning modules on physical activity and health, undergraduate training resources for medical, nursing and allied health professionals and Public Health England’s Clinical Champions Programme. Physical activity is also embedded in NHS’s risk reduction services such as NHS Health Checks and the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-05-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the presence in the UK of a counterparty clearing house is necessary to the success of the UK as an international financial centre, and whether the presence of such a clearing house is protected by the new settlement for the UK in the EU.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
Central Counterparties (CCPs) play a central role in modern financial markets. As the Prime Minster has made clear, the UK’s new settlement with the EU ensures UK firms, including CCPs, will never face any discrimination for being outside the Eurozone.
I refer the noble Lord also to my written answer of 1 April (HL7153).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-05-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will investigate the case for sales of gift vouchers by retailers to be backed by cash collateral held in independent escrow.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
Her Majesty’s Government has asked the Law Commission to consider the treatment of gift vouchers and pre-payments in the event of retailer insolvency. The Government will consider carefully any recommendations that may emerge on this question once the Law Commission’s report is published in the summer of 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-05-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to investigate the growth in the number of banks offering unsecured credit cards with interest and principal payment grace periods of more than three years, in the light of the most recent report by MoneyFacts.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
The Government has fundamentally reformed regulation of the consumer credit market, which includes the credit card sector. Consumer credit regulation transferred from the Office of Fair Trading to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on 1 April 2014.
The FCA is currently undertaking a thorough review of the credit card market through its ‘credit card market study’. On 3 November 2015 the FCA published its interim report which found that the market was working reasonably well for most customers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-05-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the BHS pension fund has now transferred to the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) or whether the owner, former owner, or secured creditors are still able to make a financial contribution to obviate a need to transfer the fund to the PPF.
Baroness Altmann
The BHS pension schemes are in Pension Protection Fund (PPF) assessment periods. During this period the schemes are able to accept contributions from the sponsoring employer to cover its debts to the schemes. They are also able to receive recoveries as a creditor or through the use of the Regulator’s powers. If the scheme assets are shown to be sufficient to buy its members annuities at least as good as the compensation paid by the PPF, the scheme will not transfer into the PPF.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-05-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they, the Pensions Regulator, or the Pension Protection Fund have in the last three years had discussions with BHS, Lady Green or Sir Philip Green concerning the deficit in the BHS pension fund and a scheme to reduce that deficit.
Baroness Altmann
The Pensions Regulator and the Pension Protection Fund are independent bodies and in carrying out their functions they may meet individuals involved with pension schemes.
Ministers have engaged with a range of sponsoring employers of Defined Benefit pensions schemes as a matter of routine, including Sir Philip Green, as part of their normal considerations of the pensions landscape but oversight of the scheme funding regime for Defined Benefit schemes is a matter for the Pensions Regulator. It would not be appropriate for Ministers to intervene in individual cases or to discuss with the Regulator, the Pension Protection Fund or the scheme sponsor how a particular scheme’s pension deficit should be mitigated.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-05-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports that the London Stock Exchange estimates that its acquisition by Deutsche Bourse will lead to a reduction of £7 billion in the margin capital available to protect the financial system from the consequences of counterparty failure, and of whether such a reduction in collateral represents an unacceptable increase in systemic risk.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
Central Counterparties (CCPs) play a central role in modern financial markets. As the Prime Minster has made clear, the UK’s new settlement with the EU ensures UK firms, including CCPs, will never face any discrimination for being outside the Eurozone.
I refer the noble Lord also to my written answer of 1 April (HL7153).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2016-05-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to support research and development to provide continually up-to-date defence against cybercrime.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Home Office continues to work closely with police forces to ensure that we are best placed to tackle the threat posed by cyber crime.
Through the National Cyber Security Programme (NCSP), we invested over £90 million during the last Parliament to bolster the law enforcement response.
As the Chancellor announced in November, this Government has committed to spending £1.9 billion on cyber security over the next five years, including for tackling cyber crime.
The Home Office is also supporting the work led by Chief Constable Stephen Kavanagh, the National Policing Lead for Digital Investigation and Intelligence (DII), to build capabilities to combat the full range of digital crime types. In addition we are providing funding through the Police Transformation Fund to support police led programmes to provide a step-change in digital capability.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2016-05-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that businesses and individuals are being adequately protected from the financial impact of cybercrime.
Lord Keen of Elie
Through the National Cyber Security Programme (NCSP), we invested over £90 million during the last Parliament to bolster the law enforcement response. As the Chancellor announced in November, this Government has committed to spending £1.9 billion on cyber security over the next five years, including activity to help businesses and individuals protect themselves from cyber crime. The Government is also creating the National Cyber Security Centre, which will open in October 2016, to simplify the current cyber security landscape. This year, we will also publish a second five-year National Cyber Security Strategy which will set out our approach to how we will continue to defend the UK from cyber crime.
Through the NCSP we are funding the Cyber Streetwise campaign (www.cyberstreetwise.com), which encourages the public and Small and Medium Enterprises to adopt more secure online behaviour. The latest phase of the campaign, launched in September 2015, is focussed on addressing the estimated 80% of cyber crime that could be prevented through the adoption of three simple online behaviours: use three random words to create a strong password; install security software on all devices; and always download the latest software and app updates as soon as they appear.
We are also clear that banks have a central role in the prevention of fraud and cyber crime. The Home Secretary announced our new Joint Fraud Taskforce on 10 February. The Taskforce is a collaboration of the banks, law enforcement and government, at the most senior levels. Its aim is to protect the public from financial fraud, including cyber-enabled fraud, to reduce the impact of fraud on victims and increase the disruption and prosecution of fraudsters.