Tag: Charles Walker

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

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to increase the scope of the Financial Conduct Authority’s terms of reference to include the application of the Treating Customers Fairly policy to banks.

Harriett Baldwin

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is operationally independent of Government and its remit is set out in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

Under the FCA’s policy, banks which are regulated by the FCA are already required to treat customers fairly. Principle 6 of the FCA’s Principles for Businesses states: A firm must pay due regard to the interests of its customers and treat them fairly.

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 research his Department has undertaken on the social costs 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 2016-03-18.

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 2015-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the level is of public subsidy per megawatt of energy generated sought by the developers and operators of the proposed Swansea Bay tidal lagoon; and how this subsidy compares to similar subsidies sought by the nuclear industry.

Andrea Leadsom

The negotiations between the UK Government and Tidal Lagoon Swansea Bay PLC are commercially sensitive and it is not appropriate for us to comment on matters such as the potential strike price.

The negotiations must be kept confidential in order to allow the Government to secure the best possible deal for consumers.

Any decision to offer a contract for difference (CFD) would be subject to strict value for money considerations, the funds available within the Levy Control Framework at the time of a decision and be subject to State aid approval.

If issued, any CFD would be published once completed, including the strike price, having redacted commercially sensitive information.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2015-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will consider the environmental impact of tidal lagoons in the Severn Estuary, Bristol Channel and Swansea Bay before granting permissions for these lagoons; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom

Before determining any consent applications for tidal lagoons that are nationally significant infrastructure projects, my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State will consider their individual and cumulative environmental impacts alongside all other relevant information.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2015-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether the plans for the Swansea Bay tidal lagoon have been delayed; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom

The Government is currently in the first phase of a Contract for Difference negotiation with the developer of the proposed Swansea Bay tidal lagoon project. This process of due diligence will enable us to gain a better understanding of the potential of a tidal lagoon programme in the UK.

At present there is no timeframe for how long the negotiation process may take. The timeframe depends on a number of factors, many of which would be outside the control of the Department. Robust due diligence is needed to determine whether undertaking this proposed project would be in the best interests of the consumer long term.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2015-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will ensure that revenue raised by the sale of rod licences is used to maintain and improve fisheries and fish stocks.

George Eustice

The revenue raised from the rod licence fee is classed as a hypothecated tax. The Environment Agency Financial Memorandum clearly sets out that this income is used for the provision of its fisheries service.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2015-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of the revenue from the sale of rod licences was not allocated to the maintenance and improvement of fisheries and fish stocks in the last five years.

George Eustice

The revenue raised from the sale of rod licences is classed as a hypothecated tax. The Environment Agency Financial Memorandum clearly sets out that this revenue is used for the provision of the Environment Agency fisheries service. The Environment Agency Financial Memorandum clearly sets out that the rod licence fees are for maintaining, improving and developing salmon, trout, freshwater and eel fisheries under the Salmon and Fresh Water Fisheries Act 1975.

The Environment Agency Fisheries Service provides activities including; fisheries monitoring and enforcement, fisheries advice, preparing and responding to incidents and the necessary functions to support these services such as accommodation and legal advice.