Tag: Lord Myners

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they propose to enforce the commitments they have obtained from SoftBank in connection with employment and the location of the headquarters of ARM Holdings.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The Takeover Panel is responsible for enforcing the post offer undertakings given by SoftBank under the terms of the Takeover Code. Grant Thornton LLP has been appointed as an independent supervisor under the Code to monitor compliance with the undertakings. The Takeover Panel can require SoftBank to submit written progress reports in such form and as frequently as it requires and can take disciplinary action if the undertakings are not fulfilled. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will continue to monitor developments.

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 establish an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding BHS being placed in administration, and in particular in to the implications for employees, pension scheme members and creditors.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

When a company enters administration, the administrators have to report to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills within three months on the conduct of the directors.

In the case of BHS the Insolvency Service is making early contact with the administrators to discuss the directors’ conduct and to consider whether further steps, such as a detailed investigation, may be necessary.

Where misconduct is established it can lead to disqualification of a director for between 2 and 15 years.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether it is their policy that the ultimate holding company for the London Stock Exchange remains incorporated in the UK.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

I refer the noble Lord to my previous answers of 26 April (HL7583 and HL7780) which noted that, once notified of the merger, the Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authority would assess the proposal from a regulatory standpoint, and that it would also be subject to assessments and approvals by the competition authorities, overseas regulators, and shareholders.

My previous answers further noted that any inter central counterparty links would need to be assessed against the relevant parts of European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) by the Bank of England, as supervisor of LCH.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-06-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 6 June (HL Deb, col 626), on how many occasions since its inception has the Pensions Regulator used provisions for dawn raids, and how it determines the circumstances in which such provisions should be employed.

Baroness Altmann

The Pensions Regulator has a power to request information which it exercises regularly and successfully. This means that it is often not necessary to use the powers under section 73 (inspection) or section 78 (warrants) of the Pensions Act 2004.

Under section 78, a justice of the peace may issue a warrant where there are reasonable grounds for believing that there are –

• relevant documents which would be removed, or made inaccessible, from the premises, or hidden, tampered with or destroyed,

or that

• an offence has been committed, or
• a person will do any act which constitutes a misuse or misappropriation of the assets of an occupational pension scheme or a personal pension scheme.

This power is only used in extreme circumstances, and such cases usually involve suspicions of wider criminal activity. Since 2004, the Regulator has used its powers to either inspect premises or issue a warrant on five occasions.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to introduce legislation restricting the acquisition of key UK companies by foreign investors while they consider their industrial strategy.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

As we build an economy that works for all, the Government will keep the law on takeovers under constant review.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2015-02-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether it is routine policy for the Cabinet Office to contact HM Revenue and Customs to consult it prior to the appointment of a non-elected Minister.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston

As was the case under previous administrations, ministerial appointments are a matter for the Prime Minister, in line with the Ministerial Code.

For those individuals upon whom the Prime Minister wishes to confer a life peerage, the independent House of Lords Appointments Commission vets nominations. For those individuals upon whom the Prime Minister wishes to confer a peerage in order that they might sit in the House of Lords to take up a ministerial role, the Commission consults the main regulatory authorities, including HMRC, before giving advice.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2015-02-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they still consider it appropriate to allow Chinese banks to open branches in the United Kingdom.

Lord Deighton

The decision-making on applications from Chinese banks to establish branches in the United Kingdom is a matter for the independent Prudential Regulation Authority, consistent with its broader policy on the regulation of non-European Economic Area banks.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2015-02-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government which were the 10 jurisdictions into which closed bank accounts held in Switzerland by United Kingdom residents were transferred according to information provided to them by the Swiss National Bank.

Lord Deighton

HL4893

Under the Swiss Agreement HMRC received a list of the top 10 destinations to where funds were moved in the period before the Agreement came into force. They are using this information together with information from compliance work to follow the proceeds of tax evasion.

As with Lichtenstein agreement signed in 2009, HMRC is legally restricted by the Agreement’s terms from publishing the information provided.

HL4896

Where there is evidence of collusion in tax evasion or other wrongdoing, the relevant law enforcement agency would assess that evidence and decide whether to pursue an investigation.

HMRC received the data from the French in April 2010 under very strict international treaty conditions, which limited its use to tax purposes only and prevented HMRC from sharing the data with other law enforcement authorities for investigating other potential offences.

HMRC first asked for the conditions to be relaxed in August 2010. Following a number of more recent representations, the French authorities gave written confirmation on 23 February 2015 that they were lifting restrictions on the use and sharing of the data with other law enforcement agencies and regulators for the purpose of investigating criminal offences.

As a result, HMRC has recently held a multi-agency meeting to discuss how the stolen HSBC Suisse data can be shared with them.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2015-02-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what regulatory actions were taken in the United Kingdom in connection with HSBC as a consequence of the fines imposed in the United States in response to its involvement in money laundering on behalf of Mexican drug cartels.

Lord Deighton

I can confirm to the Noble Lord that the information I provided him in response to his written question answered on 17th June 2013 remains accurate:

US investigations and enforcement action on HSBC focused on their subsidiaries in the US. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has no direct supervisory remit over these HSBC entities.

However, in conjunction with the action taken by the US, the (then) FSA, as lead regulator for the HSBC Group globally, made a number of requirements of HSBC Holdings plc, designed to ensure that all parts of the HSBC Group are compliant with the relevant legal and regulatory requirements across the Group to prevent similar failings occurring in future.

This included requiring a committee of the HSBC Board to oversee matters relating to anti-money laundering, sanctions, terrorist financing and proliferation financing; requiring the Group to revise its policies and procedures to ensure that all parts of the HSBC Group are subject to standards equivalent to those required under UK requirements; HSBC employing an independent monitor to oversee the Group’s compliance with UK anti-money laundering, sanctions, terrorist financing and proliferation financing requirements and to provide independent reporting to the HSBC Board committee and regulators. HSBC Holdings was also required to appoint a Group Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO), with responsibility for ensuring that systems and controls are in place across the Group.

The FCA is closely monitoring the implementation of these requirements by HSBC.