Tag: Lord Mendelsohn

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2016-06-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to change the broadband target of 10 megabits per second by 2020 to a higher one, in the light of the progress made by other countries.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The Government’s ambition for the broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO) is that it should be set initially at 10 megabits per second. The rationale for the USO is to provide a ‘digital safety net’ to ensure that every home and business is able to access a fast broadband.

A broadband USO set at 10 megabits per second is higher than anywhere else in Europe. Spain, for example, has set their USO at 1 megabit per second, and Finland and Malta at 2 and 4 megabits per second respectively. We expect that the USO speed will need to increase over time beyond 10 megabits per second and are committed to keeping this under review to make sure that it keeps pace with consumers’ needs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2015-12-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the estimated annual financial loss to the Labour Party following the implementation of clause 10 in the Trade Union Bill, which will reverse the current opt-out process.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

There has been no assessment. However, the proposals in the Bill are not about party funding. The Trade Union Bill is introducing a greater level of transparency into union activities by requiring union members to make an active decision to contribute to a union’s political fund.

If union members want a political fund they are perfectly free to contribute to one, so, this will not necessarily lead to a reduction in the funds available.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2016-05-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to take steps to encourage fund managers to take research costs out of their management fees, rather than deducting those costs through additional fees.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

The Government is committed to the principle that people who have worked hard and saved should have access to appropriate and accessible investment options and understand the charges that they face. We appreciate the efforts that industry have made to fulfil this aim.

Since last April, the Government has ensured that trustees of defined contribution pension schemes report charges levied on members in schemes used for auto enrolment.

We are also engaging with international work on transparency, such as the legislation agreed at European Union level through the Packaged Retail and Insurance Based Investment Products (PRIIPs) and Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID). MiFID II will introduce new measures to increase transparency of research costs for clients of portfolio managers. Under these new measures, portfolio managers may only pay for research through their own funds or from a specific research payment account funded by its clients and subject to specific controls, including a research budget.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is also currently conducting a market study into asset management, which covers the issue of whether the level of fund management fees charged to consumers reflects a competitive market. We await the FCA’s assessment of competition in this sector. The FCA expect to publish an interim report in summer 2016 and a final report in early 2017.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2016-05-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the case for prohibiting full transparency in transaction costs in fund management reporting.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

The Government is committed to the principle that people should have access to appropriate and accessible investment options and understand the charges that they face.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is currently conducting a market study into asset management. We await the FCA’s assessment of disclosure of costs and fees in fund management reporting, where these issues fall under the scope of the market study. The FCA expect to publish an interim report in summer 2016 and a final report in early 2017.

With respect to the disclosure requirements imposed on pension trustees, the Department for Work and Pensions and the FCA jointly undertook a Call for Evidence on disclosure of costs and charges in workplace pension schemes during 2015. We and the FCA are assessing the responses received and remain committed to making regulations and rules in this Parliament requiring publication of costs and charges, as per the legal duty in the Pensions Act 2014.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2016-06-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the UK’s future position in the league table of broadband targets in the EU and OECD countries if a target of 10 megabits per second were achieved by 2020.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

It is too early to assess what the impact of the proposed 10 megabit Universal Service Obligation (USO) will have on the UK’s future position in EU and OECD broadband league tables. The contracts we have put in place with Openreach mean that the more homes and businesses that sign up for superfast broadband, the more money Openreach has to return to local authorities to extend the roll out of superfast broadband further. So far, Openreach has confirmed more than £200 million of savings that can be reinvested, over and above the £1.7bn of public funding already allocated. We expect more funding to be confirmed in due course. We will be reinvesting that funding in order to extend superfast broadband to as many additional homes and businesses as possible.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2015-12-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consultation was carried out on the provisions outlined in clause 10 of the Trade Union Bill.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

Clause 10 of the Trade Union Bill takes forward the Government’s manifesto commitment to introduce a greater level of transparency into union activities by requiring union members to make an active decision to contribute to a union’s political fund.

Therefore, there has been no further consultation on this.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2016-05-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the level of fund management fees charged to consumers reflects a competitive market, in the light of the variable performance of such funds.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

The Government is committed to the principle that people who have worked hard and saved should have access to appropriate and accessible investment options and understand the charges that they face. We appreciate the efforts that industry have made to fulfil this aim.

Since last April, the Government has ensured that trustees of defined contribution pension schemes report charges levied on members in schemes used for auto enrolment.

We are also engaging with international work on transparency, such as the legislation agreed at European Union level through the Packaged Retail and Insurance Based Investment Products (PRIIPs) and Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID). MiFID II will introduce new measures to increase transparency of research costs for clients of portfolio managers. Under these new measures, portfolio managers may only pay for research through their own funds or from a specific research payment account funded by its clients and subject to specific controls, including a research budget.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is also currently conducting a market study into asset management, which covers the issue of whether the level of fund management fees charged to consumers reflects a competitive market. We await the FCA’s assessment of competition in this sector. The FCA expect to publish an interim report in summer 2016 and a final report in early 2017.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2016-05-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether it is their policy that entertainment expenses either given or received by individuals in fund management companies and their clients and suppliers should be disclosed, and whether they will encourage pension trustees to require such disclosures in their management contracts.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

The Government is committed to the principle that people should have access to appropriate and accessible investment options and understand the charges that they face.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is currently conducting a market study into asset management. We await the FCA’s assessment of disclosure of costs and fees in fund management reporting, where these issues fall under the scope of the market study. The FCA expect to publish an interim report in summer 2016 and a final report in early 2017.

With respect to the disclosure requirements imposed on pension trustees, the Department for Work and Pensions and the FCA jointly undertook a Call for Evidence on disclosure of costs and charges in workplace pension schemes during 2015. We and the FCA are assessing the responses received and remain committed to making regulations and rules in this Parliament requiring publication of costs and charges, as per the legal duty in the Pensions Act 2014.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2016-06-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made, in the light of the recent Panama papers scandal, of how many of the illegal assets subject to confiscation orders they will now be able to claim.

Lord Keen of Elie

On 10 April 2016 the Prime Minister announced a new cross-agency taskforce to obtain, analyse and take action on the information that has been made available from Mossack Fonseca and to take rapid action on any form of illegality that emerges.

A number of investigations are underway and the taskforce, which is accountable to the Home Secretary and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, will report on its progress later this year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2015-12-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether an impact assessment was conducted on the provisions contained in the Trade Union Bill that will change the current opt-out process to an opt-in process.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The Government intends to publish the impact assessment for the Trade Union Bill before Lords’ Committee Stage.