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 2014-03-18.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will list the forms which businesses in the UK are required to complete in order to provide returns to Eurostat.
Nick Hurd
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
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 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.
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 progress he has made in providing funding to assist East Ayrshire Council with the restoration of former open-cast sites in East Ayrshire; and if he will make a statement.
Michael Fallon
Proposals have been put to me by Scottish Government Ministers asking Her Majesty’s Government to provide a financial contribution towards the costs of restoring abandoned opencast coal mining sites in East Ayrshire and other areas of Scotland. I continue to give consideration to those proposals against the backdrop of other issues currently affecting the coal industry and of spending priorities more generally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-03-18.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent estimate he has made of the number of (a) co-operatives, (b) mutuals and (c) social enterprises which provide public services. [R]
Nick Hurd
The Government supports the growth of the social economy. Across England, there are now more than 85 public service mutuals, up from just 9 in 2010. Collectively they deliver well over £1bn in public services.
Cabinet Office analysis from 2013 based on the BIS Small Business Survey estimated that 28% (c. 50,000) of SME social enterprises provide goods or services in the public sector.
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.