The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-02-24.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether their planned introduction of votes for life would also mean that British citizens who have lived abroad for more than 15 years could fund UK political parties.
Lord Bridges of Headley
We will introduce a Bill in due course that will make these matters clear.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-05-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the Financial Conduct Authority authorisation of insolvency practitioners on the size of the debt advice market.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
The government consulted extensively on its reforms to the consumer credit market prior to the transfer of regulation from the Office of Fair Trading to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in April 2014. The result of that consultation included the exclusion for insolvency practitioners when acting in reasonable contemplation of being appointed as an insolvency practitioner (IP).
It remains the government’s view that when an insolvency practitioner is no longer acting in reasonable contemplation of being appointed as an IP, they must be authorised by the FCA if they wish to continue providing debt advice. There are no immediate plans to review this exclusion. However, the government does maintain an interest in the impact of regulation on the debt advice market.
The FCA is thoroughly assessing every debt management firm’s fitness to trade as part of the authorisation process. The size of the debt advice market will not be known until this process is complete. The government will stay in contact with the FCA throughout the authorisation process to monitor the impact on customer journeys and capacity.
For IPs concerned about the potential burden of FCA authorisation, the FCA has been clear that it takes a proportionate approach to setting fees. This includes imposing tiered fees based on the income a firm generates from its credit activities, ensuring that the smallest firms pay the lowest fees. There also remain other options for smaller firms to consider, including the appointed representative regime.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-09-05.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) domestic fires, and (2) fires in industrial and commercial buildings, were recorded in (a) 2013, (b) 2014, and (c) 2015; and what estimate they have made of the direct and indirect economic and environmental costs of those fires.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
Data from the Fire Incident Recording System are published by financial year.
(1) Fire and rescue services attended 31,899, 31,329 and 31,333 dwelling fires in England in financial years 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 respectively.
Dwelling fires are fires in properties that are a place of residence i.e. places occupied by households such as houses and flats, excluding hotels/hostels, residential institutions such as student halls of residence and care homes for children and elderly people. Dwellings also includes non-permanent structures used solely as a dwelling, such as houseboats and caravans.
(2) Fire and rescue services attended 2,385, 2,280 and 2,129 fires in industrial premises in England in 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 respectively. There were 6,132, 5,821 and 5,819 fires in commercial buildings in England in 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 respectively.
The latest figures were published in August in the Fire Statistics Monitor, which can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fire-statistics-monitor-april-2015-to-march-2016 while detailed tables can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fire-statistics-data-tables.
We have not estimated the economic and environmental costs of these fires.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2015-11-25.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they consulted all registered political parties prior to the publication of the draft Recall of MPs Act 2015 (Recall Petition) Regulations 2015.
Lord Bridges of Headley
As required by section 7(2) (k) of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, the Government formally consulted the Electoral Commission prior to the publication of the draft regulations. The Commission’s response did not give an indication as to whether or not it agreed with the policy approach but made a number of recommendations which were considered when finalising the draft regulations. The Government did not consult any registered political parties prior to laying the draft Regulations as there is no statutory requirement to do so.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-02-29.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Bridges of Headley on 25 February (HL6102 and HL6103), whether the Cabinet Office’s new rules on grant funding mean that (1) Citizen’s Advice, (2) the Territorial Army Rifles Association, (3) the Consortium of Voluntary Adoption Agencies, (4) English Heritage, (5) Imperial College, and (6) the Marine Management Organisations, can no longer make representations to them, Parliament or the European Commission, on legislation or policy.
Lord Bridges of Headley
The clause ensures that taxpayers’ funds are not diverted away from their intended purpose and wasted on political lobbying. The clause does not stop any grant recipients from campaigning using other sources of funding.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-05-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the regulatory impact of the Financial Conduct Authority authorisation of insolvency practitioners.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
The government consulted extensively on its reforms to the consumer credit market prior to the transfer of regulation from the Office of Fair Trading to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in April 2014. The result of that consultation included the exclusion for insolvency practitioners when acting in reasonable contemplation of being appointed as an insolvency practitioner (IP).
It remains the government’s view that when an insolvency practitioner is no longer acting in reasonable contemplation of being appointed as an IP, they must be authorised by the FCA if they wish to continue providing debt advice. There are no immediate plans to review this exclusion. However, the government does maintain an interest in the impact of regulation on the debt advice market.
The FCA is thoroughly assessing every debt management firm’s fitness to trade as part of the authorisation process. The size of the debt advice market will not be known until this process is complete. The government will stay in contact with the FCA throughout the authorisation process to monitor the impact on customer journeys and capacity.
For IPs concerned about the potential burden of FCA authorisation, the FCA has been clear that it takes a proportionate approach to setting fees. This includes imposing tiered fees based on the income a firm generates from its credit activities, ensuring that the smallest firms pay the lowest fees. There also remain other options for smaller firms to consider, including the appointed representative regime.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-09-14.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will respond to the Independent Review of Consumer Protection Measures concerning Online Secondary Ticketing Facilities published on 26 May.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
The Government is considering Professor Waterson’s Review and will publish its response in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2015-12-17.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they anticipate the review of unsafe product recall, chaired by Lynn Faulds-Wood, will be published.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
The review of the UK unsafe product recall system chaired by Lynn Faulds Wood will be published soon.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-03-01.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many lobbying consultancies would need to sign up to the Government’s Register of Consultant Lobbyists in order for the Register to be self-funding.
Lord Bridges of Headley
The Transparency Act requires that the regulations are set to recover the costs of the Registrar’s activities from the industry via subscription charges. The Register of Consultant Lobbyists is nearing the end of its set-phase but ongoing running costs would still be different from projections. The total annual charge paid by each registering consultant lobbyist increased from £750 to £1000 on 1 January 2016. The Government will keep the funding arrangements for the Register under review.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-05-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish all of the responses received by the review relating to secondary ticketing required by section 94 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
The Government plans to publish responses to the Call for Evidence in due course.