Tag: Lord Rennard

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rennard on 2016-02-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the Electoral Commission’s conclusion in its report UK Parliamentary General Election 2015: Campaign spending report, that the Commission should be provided with investigative powers and sanctions for offences relating to candidate spending and donations at specified elections”.”

Lord Bridges of Headley

The Electoral Commission published its “UK Parliamentary General Election 2015: Campaign spending report” on 29 February 2016. The Government is considering the report and will respond in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rennard on 2016-02-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the Electoral Commission’s UK Parliamentary General Election 2015: Campaign spending report.

Lord Bridges of Headley

The Electoral Commission published its “UK Parliamentary General Election 2015: Campaign spending report” on 29 February 2016. The Government is considering the report and will respond in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rennard on 2016-02-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response the Law Commissions’ recommendations to reform UK electoral law.

Lord Bridges of Headley

The Government is currently considering the recommendations made by the Law Commissions in their interim report of 4 February. This is a wide-ranging report that covers a number of complex issues and it is important that the Government give the report due consideration before a formal response is made.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rennard on 2016-02-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will publish details of the recommendations for potential changes to electoral legislation by Sir Eric Pickles MP.

Lord Bridges of Headley

Sir Eric Pickles will make his recommendations as soon as he is able. 66 written submissions are under consideration, as well as evidence provided in meetings with specific people and at a seminar of academics, stakeholder organisations and political parties.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rennard on 2016-06-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Ashton of Hyde on 14 June (HL Deb, col 1099), what action they are taking in response to the practice by some companies of supplying low-tax foreign markets with more tobacco than they are capable of consuming, thereby facilitating their products being brought back to the UK and depriving HM Revenue and Customs of revenue.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

The UK introduced stringent rules in 2006 requiring all UK Tobacco Manufacturers (TMs) to control their supply chains. These rules required them to take steps to avoid supplying cigarettes and/or HRT (hand rolling tobacco) to persons who are likely to smuggle them into the UK or resupply them to other persons who are likely to do the same.

Tobacco manufacturers can face penalties of up to £5m for failing to comply with the rules. HMRC action, in monitoring TM’s compliance, is reflected in a reduction in supplies of UK brand cigarettes to high risk markets of 20% since 2010. At the same time, supplies to those markets of UK brand Hand Rolling Tobacco (HRT) has reduced by 36%.

Despite this success HMRC is not complacent. They continue to closely monitor the illicit market in the UK, which today is made up of a mix of unregulated brands, non UK brands, and counterfeit as well as genuine UK brands, to ensure the legislation is working. HMRC also robustly challenge TM’s supply chain policies and procedures to ensure their continued compliance with the rules.

HMRC cannot comment on the progress of individual investigations but it is a matter of public record that one manufacturer has been subject to a supply chain penalty. This penalty is currently under to appeal.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rennard on 2016-06-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their current estimate of the loss of tax revenue each year owing to tobacco smuggling.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

The 2014/15 tax revenue loss associated with illicit tobacco, including both cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco, is estimated to be £2.1 billion.

Estimates of UK tax revenue losses are published every year. The latest estimates, for the years 2006/7 to 2014/15, are published in ‘Tobacco Tax Gap estimates 2014-15’.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rennard on 2015-12-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the annual effect of the planned reductions to Policy Development Grants on political parties’ funding for policy development.

Lord Bridges of Headley

The total amount available for policy development grants is to be reduced by 19 per cent. This is in line with the savings asked of non­ protected departments as part of the Spending Review and will ensure that political parties in receipt of taxpayer funding contribute to the savings that are also being asked of local and central government.

The Electoral Commission determines the grant available to each eligible political party as part of the scheme.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rennard on 2016-06-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress HM Revenue and Customs has made in investigating in the UK tobacco companies that over-supply low tobacco-tax foreign countries, and what action has resulted from those investigations.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

The UK introduced stringent rules in 2006 requiring all UK Tobacco Manufacturers (TMs) to control their supply chains. These rules required them to take steps to avoid supplying cigarettes and/or HRT (hand rolling tobacco) to persons who are likely to smuggle them into the UK or resupply them to other persons who are likely to do the same.

Tobacco manufacturers can face penalties of up to £5m for failing to comply with the rules. HMRC action, in monitoring TM’s compliance, is reflected in a reduction in supplies of UK brand cigarettes to high risk markets of 20% since 2010. At the same time, supplies to those markets of UK brand Hand Rolling Tobacco (HRT) has reduced by 36%.

Despite this success HMRC is not complacent. They continue to closely monitor the illicit market in the UK, which today is made up of a mix of unregulated brands, non UK brands, and counterfeit as well as genuine UK brands, to ensure the legislation is working. HMRC also robustly challenge TM’s supply chain policies and procedures to ensure their continued compliance with the rules.

HMRC cannot comment on the progress of individual investigations but it is a matter of public record that one manufacturer has been subject to a supply chain penalty. This penalty is currently under to appeal.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rennard on 2015-12-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the estimated annual cost of their special advisers.

Lord Bridges of Headley

I refer the Noble Lord to the Written Statement made on 17 December 2015, HLWS417, which I have attached for each of reference.

The attached list of Special Advisers sets out the names of the Special Advisers in post as of December 2015, each special adviser’s pay band, and actual salary (where this is higher than the Senior Civil Service entry-level salary), together with details of the total pay bill for 2014-15 and the estimate for 2015-16. The cost has fallen from last year, and the cost represents just 0.08 per cent of the Civil Service pay bill.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rennard on 2016-06-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they plan to take to further reduce the capacity for tobacco wholesalers and retailers to supply illicit tobacco.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

The Government currently has no plans to introduce new measures specifically applicable to wholesalers and retailers to tackle the supply of illicit tobacco. However, HM Revenue and Customs has undertaken a public consultation on the implementation of Article 6 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Illicit Trade Protocol, part of which is concerned with consideration of the licensing of the supply chain for tobacco products. The consultation sought views from a wide range of stakeholders to help assess the potential benefits and impacts of introducing a scheme to help establish a clear evidence base for any decisions. The results of the consultation and the proposed next steps will be announced in due course.