Tag: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town

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.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-09-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the proportion of retail businesses that have designated an appropriate alternative dispute resolution (ADR) provider for their sector in accordance with the EU ADR Directive.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The Government supports the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) to help businesses and consumers save time and money when dealing with complaints. Approved ADR is available for every consumer to trader dispute in the UK.

We have not estimated what proportion of retail businesses have a designated ADR provider as it is open to the retailer to choose a different ADR provider with the necessary skills and experience to deal with a particular dispute.

The Chartered Trading Standards Institute acts as the lead competent authority and has held working groups and individual meetings with the other competent authorities to ensure consistency of approach.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2015-10-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they anticipate publication of the results of the review of the United Kingdom’s system for the recall of unsafe products chaired by Lynn Faulds Wood.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The Review of UK product recalls chaired by Lynn Faulds Wood is due to be published soon.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2015-12-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 17 September (HL2043), when they expect to publish updated guidelines relating to lower-risk drinking.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Chief Medical Officer, with advice from a group of independent experts, has reviewed current drinking guidelines. The proposals will be published shortly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-03-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there are any plans to expand the scope of the Register of Consultant Lobbyists to include in-house lobbyists.

Lord Bridges of Headley

The Register complements the existing government transparency regime whereby Ministers and Permanent Secretaries proactively publish quarterly details of their meetings with external organisations and individuals. While it is clear whose interests are being represented by other individuals and organisations when they meet with Ministers and Permanent Secretaries, that was not the case for consultant lobbyists. That is why the Register was created. The Government has no plans to increase the scope of the register.

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 lay the report relating to secondary ticketing before Parliament on the same date that it is published, and not later than Thursday 26 May, in accordance with section 94 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

My Rt. Hon Friends, the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport laid the report today.