Tag: Charles Walker

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2016-03-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the number of its senior civil servants who will potentially fall under the provisions of the Fourth EU Money Laundering Directive, 2015/849; and what assessment he has made of which of his Department’s agencies or other public bodies will potentially be classed as holding a prominent public function for the purposes of that directive.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Department for Transport’s current assessment is that none of its senior civil servants, including those in its agencies or other public bodies, will fall under the provisions of the fourth EU Money Laundering Directive, 2015/849.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2016-03-23.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of implementation of the Fourth EU Money Laundering Directive, 2015/849 on trade between US and European banks and financial service companies and their UK equivalents which include on their Board a Member of the House of Lords.

Harriett Baldwin

Under the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, which will be transposed into national law by June 2017, a politically exposed person is one who has been entrusted with a prominent public function domestically or by a foreign country. The Government will publish an Impact Assessment in due course. This will set out the benefits and costs for businesses in a wide range of sectors, including banking and financial services.

The changes proposed under the Directive should not prevent any individual in this category from gaining or maintaining access to financial services. Board appointments will remain a matter for individual banks and financial services companies in line with relevant codes and regulations. The Treasury regularly raises the Directive with financial institutions and the regulator, and we encourage financial institutions to take a proportionate, risk-based approach when applying these measures.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2016-05-25.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information his Department holds on how many money service businesses had their bank accounts closed in (a) 2013-14, (b) 2014-15 and (c) 2015-16.

Harriett Baldwin

The FCA have recently published a report on the nature and scale of de-risking in the UK. The report reinforces the view that de-risking is driven by a variety of factors, not just anti money-laundering compliance or a fear of regulatory action. From a data set of 23 banks the report noted that “tracking the proportionately tiny number of closures linked to financial crime concerns within this immense dataset is thus inherently challenging, especially if the reason for closure is primarily commercial, with a small component of the equation relating to ‘increased compliance costs’.”

However the report does indicate that the rate of customer exits has accelerated over the last 2-3 years.

Data from HM Revenue and Customs (the supervisor of Money Service Businesses outside the banking sector) shows that there are about 2000 MSB’s principals registered to trade with approximately 45,000 agents around the UK. It is a large and diverse sector. HMRC does hold data on the number of de-registered MSB’s, however given that MSB’s are not required to provide HMRC with information on when they have had their bank accounts closed, data on MSB’s effected by de-risking is not available.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2015-11-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he or officials of his Department have had with Dr Salim Munayer and Musalah on prospects for reconciliation between Israel and Palestine; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not had discussions specifically with Dr Salim Munayer and Musaleh on prospects for reconciliation between Israel and Palestine. However we fund several projects through the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund which aim to foster reconciliation between Palestinians and Israelis. For example, we support the Peres Centre project to train Palestinian doctors in Israeli hospitals. This not only provides advanced training but also creates people to people relations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what representations he has received on the ethics of fixed odds betting terminals; and if he will make a statement.

David Evennett

On 21 January the Government published its evaluation of the £50 regulations introduced in April 2015. You can find it here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/493714/Evaluation_of_Gaming_Machine__Circumstances_of_Use___Amendment__Regulations_2015.pdf

The evaluation indicates that a large proportion of players of FOBTs may now be making a more conscious choice to control their playing behaviour and their stake level. We will now consider the findings of the evaluation before deciding if there is a need for further action.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2016-03-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate his Department has made of the number of its senior civil servants who will potentially fall under the provisions of the fourth EU Money Laundering Directive, 2015/849; and what assessment he has made of which of his Department’s agencies or other public bodies will potentially be classed as holding a prominent public function for the purposes of that directive.

Anna Soubry

Under the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, which will be transposed into national law by June 2017, a ‘politically exposed person’ is one ‘who is or who has been entrusted with prominent public functions’. This could potentially include some senior civil servants in the Department and its agencies or other public bodies.

The Government’s view is that the Directive permits a risk-based approach to the identification of whether an individual is a politically exposed person and, when identified, the application of different degrees of enhanced measures by banks and other financial institutions to reflect the risks posed. The Government will be setting out this view in a consultation, which will be published shortly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2016-03-23.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the Fourth Money Laundering Directive on the ability in future of members of the House of Lords to continue to serve on the boards of banks and financial services companies; and if he will make a statement.

Harriett Baldwin

Under the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, which will be transposed into national law by June 2017, a politically exposed person is one who has been entrusted with a prominent public function domestically or by a foreign country. The Government will publish an Impact Assessment in due course. This will set out the benefits and costs for businesses in a wide range of sectors, including banking and financial services.

The changes proposed under the Directive should not prevent any individual in this category from gaining or maintaining access to financial services. Board appointments will remain a matter for individual banks and financial services companies in line with relevant codes and regulations. The Treasury regularly raises the Directive with financial institutions and the regulator, and we encourage financial institutions to take a proportionate, risk-based approach when applying these measures.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2016-07-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when his Department plans to publish the final Accelerated Access Review related to drug development and innovation; and if he will make a statement.

George Freeman

The Government expects to publish the review it commissioned on the independently chaired Accelerated Access Review shortly. The Review team are currently considering publication dates.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2015-11-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what UN initiatives the UK is supporting that aim to promote reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians and establishment of a Palestinian nation state that is recognised both internationally and by Israel.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The UK continues to support a negotiated two state solution as the only way to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As part of this, along with other members of the UN Security Council, we welcome efforts by the Quartet to drive forward improvements on the ground. We support the Security Council’s efforts to build an environment conducive to peace and achieve our common goal of a two-state solution. In response to the recent violence across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the UK supports and reiterates the Council’s calls on both parties to avoid escalating the situation. We will judge proposals for further UN initiatives on the basis of whether we assess they support progress on the Middle East Peace Process.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2016-02-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2016 to Question 23012, which options the Government is discussing with the Mayor; and what information his Department holds on the potential effect of other ways of influencing the private hire vehicle market that do not require new legislation.

Andrew Jones

On 20 January 2016 the Mayor of London announced his plans for modernising and enhancing London’s private hire vehicle industry. In these plans the Mayor recognised the need to investigate ways to address the congestion and air quality impacts of the increasing number of private hire vehicles in London without capping numbers. The Government will discuss with the Mayor any options that are proposed.

The Government supports competition and growth in the taxi and private hire sector although we are aware of a range of factors that could affect the private hire market in London, including raising standards and removing exemptions from the Congestion Charge. The Department’s Best Practice Guidance for taxi and private hire vehicle licensing advises licensing authorities that licensing requirements which are unduly stringent will tend unreasonably to restrict the supply of taxi and private hire vehicle services.