Tag: Lord Myners

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-03-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have agreed to cross-margining of variable payments through LCH Clearnet and Eurex; and if so, who will be responsible for regulating these separate entities; and whether they have required any increase in capital or margin.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

European Regulation No 648/2012 (EMIR) establishes a strict supervisory framework for CCPs, which in the UK are regulated by the Bank of England.

EMIR’s requirements – which continue to apply in the event of a merger or change of control of a CCP – include that a CCP must be sufficiently well-resourced to withstand extreme market events, including the simultaneous default of its two largest clearing members.

In the event of a qualifying change of control the Bank of England must under EMIR also assess the suitability of the proposed acquirer and financial soundness of the proposed acquisition.

Copies of the Bank of England’s 2016 report on supervision of financial market infrastructures were laid before Parliament on 4 March and are available in the House library.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-04-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will review the effectiveness of the recommendations on public sector procurement by Sir Philip Green.

Lord Bridges of Headley

I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave him on 11 April 2016 to Question HL7227.

As a result of the commercial and procurement reforms we made during the life of the last Parliament, we saved more than £21 bn.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-05-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will review, or charge others to review, the performance of the trustees of the BHS pension schemes, and whether the current trustees are fit and proper to continue performing that role at BHS and other pension schemes.

Baroness Altmann

The investigation into the BHS pension schemes, including the role of the trustees, is a matter for the independent Pensions Regulator.

The actions of the trustees and competence of the trustees are among the issues that we would expect the Regulator to be considering as part of its investigations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-05-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government who has regulatory responsibility for approving cross-margining agreements between central clearing houses and the determination of priority in the event of default.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

Under European Regulation No 648/2012 (EMIR) CCPs in the UK are regulated by the Bank of England. For other information I refer the noble Lord to my written answers of 1 April (HL7153) and 26 April (HL7583, HL7584, HL7585, and HL7586).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-07-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to establish a scheme to retrain as trade negotiators people with experience of high level intergovernmental and global institutional practice.

Lord Price

My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has created the Department for International Trade, which is responsible for promoting British trade across the world and ensuring the UK takes advantage of the huge opportunities open to us. We are building up our trade policy capability. ​The Department has begun a process to recruit and train staff to work on the UK’s trade policy. We will adapt the resource devoted to trade policy in line with future demands.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-03-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much the UK contributes towards the subsidisation of sugar production.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

Sugar production is not directly subsidised in the UK. However, sugar beet growers in the UK are entitled to make a claim for support under the Basic Payment Scheme of the Common Agricultural Policy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-04-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will review the financial strength of the Pension Protection Fund.

Baroness Altmann

The Pension Protection Fund is run by an independent Board and reviews its financial position regularly. It manages over £23 billion of assets and, in the 2014/15 Annual Report, the last published, declared a funding ratio of 115.1 per cent and a surplus of £3.6 billion.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-05-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will investigate the compliance of professional advisers to Retail Acquisitions with know-your-customer and money-laundering regulations.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

A regulatory framework is in place to deal with non-compliance with know-your-customer and money-laundering regulations. However, this is not the focus of the current investigation by the Insolvency Service into BHS.

If, during the course of the current Insolvency Service investigation into BHS, it appears that there is good reason to widen the scope of its enquires, the Insolvency Service has powers under the Companies Act 1985 to initiate confidential enquiries.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-05-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they last reviewed the risks posed to financial stability by central clearing houses; and whether such a review took account of the increasing practice of cross-margining linking two or more clearing houses.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

Under European Regulation No 648/2012 (EMIR) CCPs in the UK are regulated by the Bank of England. For other information I refer the noble Lord to my written answers of 1 April (HL7153) and 26 April (HL7583, HL7584, HL7585, and HL7586).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-07-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they consulted experts in the field before publicly welcoming the acquisition of ARM Holdings by SoftBank, and whether they would similarly welcome a rival bid from an international private equity investor.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

SoftBank has made it clear that it intends to invest in ARM, keep its HQ in the UK, and at least double the employee headcount in the UK. The Government welcomes this. No rival bids for ARM have so far been made.