Tag: Cathy Jamieson

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-04-30.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason his Department will no longer participate in the Debt Management Plan Protocol guidance group; and if he will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom

The Government is committed to improving standards in the debt management industry to deliver a better deal for consumers and greater transparency for creditors. The Debt Management Plan Protocol played a crucial role in meeting this objective, working in complement with the OFT regulatory framework, and paved the way for more robust regulation of the sector by the FCA.

From 1 April, responsibility for regulating debt management firms, along with all other consumer credit firms, transferred from the Office of Fair Trading to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Consumers will be better protected under the new regime – the FCA will:

· police the gateway to the market more thoroughly;

· proactively identify risks to consumers;

· focus its supervisory resources on areas most likely to cause consumer harm;

· approve individuals in influential roles in firms;

· operate a flexible and responsive regime;

· use its wide enforcement toolkit;

· and ensure consumers have access to redress.

The FCA will thoroughly assess every debt management firm’s fitness to trade as part of the authorisation process – debt management firms will be amongst the first to require authorisation.

The FCA has also introduced new requirements for debt management firms, including:

· Prudential requirements: Debt management firms often hold consumers’ money – the FCA is requiring large debt management firms to hold capital to ensure that consumers don’t risk losing their money if things go wrong.

· Guidance added that debt management firms should not allocate more than half the money received from customers in debt management plans to meeting their fees and charges.

With the new FCA regulatory regime in place which will greatly improve consumer protection in the debt management market, the Government decided following discussions with a range of stakeholders that it was the right time to step away from an active role in the Protocol.

The Government hopes that the stakeholders involved in the Protocol will continue to work together to help the FCA monitor the market and drive best practice in the sector.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent discussions he has had with (a) electricity generators and (b) representatives of small and medium-sized enterprises and consumer groups on proposals to assist small business energy consumers.

Michael Fallon

DECC Ministers and officials meet industry representatives and consumer groups on a regular basis to discuss market issues.

In July last year, No.10 and DECC set up a joint working group with industry and consumer groups to look at ways for improving the transparency and fairness of the energy market for small businesses. At the end of 2013, the working group published the Small Business Energy Communique, an agreement with industry to make it easier for small businesses to get a better deal in the energy market.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/small-business-energy-working-group-communique

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which charitable projects in Scotland have received funding from the Armed Forces Covenant (LIBOR) Fund to date.

Anna Soubry

The allocation of some £35 million in LIBOR fines to the Ministry Of Defence to support the Armed Forces community is just one example of the importance this Government places on the Armed Forces covenant.

We have provided £5.5 million of funding for 12 Scottish projects. In addition, the Armed Forces community in Scotland will benefit from a number of UK-wide projects which have been allocated over £16 million of LIBOR funding.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-04-30.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the future implementation of the Debt Management Plan Protocol.

Andrea Leadsom

The Government is committed to improving standards in the debt management industry to deliver a better deal for consumers and greater transparency for creditors. The Debt Management Plan Protocol played a crucial role in meeting this objective, working in complement with the OFT regulatory framework, and paved the way for more robust regulation of the sector by the FCA.

From 1 April, responsibility for regulating debt management firms, along with all other consumer credit firms, transferred from the Office of Fair Trading to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Consumers will be better protected under the new regime – the FCA will:

· police the gateway to the market more thoroughly;

· proactively identify risks to consumers;

· focus its supervisory resources on areas most likely to cause consumer harm;

· approve individuals in influential roles in firms;

· operate a flexible and responsive regime;

· use its wide enforcement toolkit;

· and ensure consumers have access to redress.

The FCA will thoroughly assess every debt management firm’s fitness to trade as part of the authorisation process – debt management firms will be amongst the first to require authorisation.

The FCA has also introduced new requirements for debt management firms, including:

· Prudential requirements: Debt management firms often hold consumers’ money – the FCA is requiring large debt management firms to hold capital to ensure that consumers don’t risk losing their money if things go wrong.

· Guidance added that debt management firms should not allocate more than half the money received from customers in debt management plans to meeting their fees and charges.

With the new FCA regulatory regime in place which will greatly improve consumer protection in the debt management market, the Government decided following discussions with a range of stakeholders that it was the right time to step away from an active role in the Protocol.

The Government hopes that the stakeholders involved in the Protocol will continue to work together to help the FCA monitor the market and drive best practice in the sector.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information he has received on allegations of human rights violations perpetrated by the Moroccan Security Forces.

Hugh Robertson

We are aware of the allegations against the Moroccan Security Forces, particularly when policing demonstrations. We regularly emphasise to Morocco the importance of respect for human rights in Western Sahara, including when policing demonstrations. I raised this during my visit to Rabat in March this year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Scottish Government regarding environmental and economic effects of the restoration of former open cast sites in East Ayrshire.

Michael Fallon

I last discussed this matter with my Scottish counterpart in May 2014.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-04-30.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of his Department’s withdrawal from the Debt Management Plan Protocol guidance group on the development of future non-statutory debt solutions.

Andrea Leadsom

The Government is committed to improving standards in the debt management industry to deliver a better deal for consumers and greater transparency for creditors. The Debt Management Plan Protocol played a crucial role in meeting this objective, working in complement with the OFT regulatory framework, and paved the way for more robust regulation of the sector by the FCA.

From 1 April, responsibility for regulating debt management firms, along with all other consumer credit firms, transferred from the Office of Fair Trading to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Consumers will be better protected under the new regime – the FCA will:

· police the gateway to the market more thoroughly;

· proactively identify risks to consumers;

· focus its supervisory resources on areas most likely to cause consumer harm;

· approve individuals in influential roles in firms;

· operate a flexible and responsive regime;

· use its wide enforcement toolkit;

· and ensure consumers have access to redress.

The FCA will thoroughly assess every debt management firm’s fitness to trade as part of the authorisation process – debt management firms will be amongst the first to require authorisation.

The FCA has also introduced new requirements for debt management firms, including:

· Prudential requirements: Debt management firms often hold consumers’ money – the FCA is requiring large debt management firms to hold capital to ensure that consumers don’t risk losing their money if things go wrong.

· Guidance added that debt management firms should not allocate more than half the money received from customers in debt management plans to meeting their fees and charges.

With the new FCA regulatory regime in place which will greatly improve consumer protection in the debt management market, the Government decided following discussions with a range of stakeholders that it was the right time to step away from an active role in the Protocol.

The Government hopes that the stakeholders involved in the Protocol will continue to work together to help the FCA monitor the market and drive best practice in the sector.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if he will list the energy companies which have agreed to (a) introduce arrangements before the end of 2014 to limit bad bills to businesses to one year where the supplier is at fault and (b) end automatic roll-overs for new customers.

Michael Fallon

British Gas, Edf Energy, E.ON, First Utility, Good Energy, Opus Energy, RWE nPower, Scottish Power and SSE publically announced that they plan to limit back bills where the company is at fault to one year by the end of 2013, or as soon as practically possible in 2014.

British Gas, Edf Energy, E,ON, First Utility, RWE nPower, Scottish Power and SSE announced their intention to end the use of automatic rollover contracts for new customers before the end of 2014.