The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2016-05-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to legislate to introduce voting thresholds that empower shareholders in the operations of public companies in relation to executive pay.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the noble Lord.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2016-05-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that businesses and individuals are being adequately protected from the financial impact of cybercrime.
Lord Keen of Elie
Through the National Cyber Security Programme (NCSP), we invested over £90 million during the last Parliament to bolster the law enforcement response. As the Chancellor announced in November, this Government has committed to spending £1.9 billion on cyber security over the next five years, including activity to help businesses and individuals protect themselves from cyber crime. The Government is also creating the National Cyber Security Centre, which will open in October 2016, to simplify the current cyber security landscape. This year, we will also publish a second five-year National Cyber Security Strategy which will set out our approach to how we will continue to defend the UK from cyber crime.
Through the NCSP we are funding the Cyber Streetwise campaign (www.cyberstreetwise.com), which encourages the public and Small and Medium Enterprises to adopt more secure online behaviour. The latest phase of the campaign, launched in September 2015, is focussed on addressing the estimated 80% of cyber crime that could be prevented through the adoption of three simple online behaviours: use three random words to create a strong password; install security software on all devices; and always download the latest software and app updates as soon as they appear.
We are also clear that banks have a central role in the prevention of fraud and cyber crime. The Home Secretary announced our new Joint Fraud Taskforce on 10 February. The Taskforce is a collaboration of the banks, law enforcement and government, at the most senior levels. Its aim is to protect the public from financial fraud, including cyber-enabled fraud, to reduce the impact of fraud on victims and increase the disruption and prosecution of fraudsters.
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 Institute of Director’s call in February for a broadband target of 10 gigabits a second by 2030.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
The Government welcomes the Institute of Directors’ Ultrafast Britain: Broadband Report published in February and is committed to working with the market to deliver a digital infrastructure that meets the current and future needs for high speeds, as well as security and resilience. The Government will be setting out its plans for realising this in its upcoming Digital Strategy.
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 what assessment they have made of the initiative at Woodford Investment Management to publish monthly all the costs that investors pay.
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. We appreciate the efforts that industry have made to fulfil this aim.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is conducting a market study into asset management, where such issues fall under its scope. 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 2016-05-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to support research and development to provide continually up-to-date defence against cybercrime.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Home Office continues to work closely with police forces to ensure that we are best placed to tackle the threat posed by cyber crime.
Through the National Cyber Security Programme (NCSP), we invested over £90 million during the last Parliament to bolster the law enforcement response.
As the Chancellor announced in November, this Government has committed to spending £1.9 billion on cyber security over the next five years, including for tackling cyber crime.
The Home Office is also supporting the work led by Chief Constable Stephen Kavanagh, the National Policing Lead for Digital Investigation and Intelligence (DII), to build capabilities to combat the full range of digital crime types. In addition we are providing funding through the Police Transformation Fund to support police led programmes to provide a step-change in digital capability.
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 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 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.