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 2015-10-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the Which? survey which showed that 9 out of 10 of the Volkswagen owners surveyed believe they should receive compensation.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

There has been no assessment of the Which? survey.

The Government expects Volkswagen to set out quickly the steps necessary to correct the problem and to support owners of the affected vehicles in the UK.

This Government is already playing its part by ensuring vehicle owners will not incur higher VED or Company Car Tax if their existing vehicles are found to be fitted with illegal software that manipulates emissions tests.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2015-10-22.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking in the light of the 21 October Which? investigation reporting that listings on some ticket resale websites are in breach of the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

Where there are alleged breaches of legislation, enforcement authorities have powers to take appropriate action. Consumers or their representatives should report any alleged breach through the Citizens Advice consumer helpline who will report substantive breaches to Trading Standards, or to the police, to take enforcement action as appropriate.

The Government has launched an Independent Review of consumer protection measures in relation to ticket resale and online Secondary Ticketing facilities under Professor Waterson, and Contributions and evidence from interested parties are welcome. This review will gather evidence on how well the Consumer Rights Act’s new ticketing provisions and wider consumer protections are working.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2015-10-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers increases the role and powers of Special Advisers; and, if so, whether they plan to bring forward regulations under section 2(5) of the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014 so that consultant lobbyists would need to register communications made personally to a Special Adviser.

Lord Bridges of Headley

It is usual practice to publish an updated Code of Conduct for Special Advisers after an election. The updated Code, published on 15 October, does not change the role and powers of special advisers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2015-10-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the new wording in the Ministerial Code, issued in October, alters the legal obligations or duty of ministers to comply with international law and treaties.

Lord Bridges of Headley

I refer the Noble Lady to the answer given to the Noble Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 5 November 2015 to HL3046,HL3047,HL3048, which I have attached for ease of reference.

The Ministerial Code is normally updated and reissued after a General Election. The updated Code makes clear that Ministers must abide by the law. The obligations of Ministers under the law including international law remain unchanged.

Information relating to internal discussions and advice is not disclosed.