Tag: Lord Wills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2014-04-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in calculating the non-ring-fenced funding provided to local authorities to deliver statutory obligations, they make any assumptions about the proportions of that funding likely to be used in fulfilling each of those obligations; and if so, what assumptions they have made of the likely expenditure on electoral registration.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston

The total amount of funding provided through the local government finance settlement in England is set at the time of the appropriate Spending Review. In setting this amount the Government considers the likely pressures and efficiency savings that can be made on a range of services, together with the overall fiscal environment, including the need to tackle the deficit left by the last Administration. This amount may be subsequently amended either through Budgets or Autumn Statements.

It is up to local authorities to decide how to set their budgets, taking into account local spending priorities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2014-04-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they calculate the local government finance settlement.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston

The method of calculating the local government finance settlement is set out in the Local Government Finance Report (England) for each year. The report for 2014/15 was approved by Parliament on 12 February. A copy of this report can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-government-finance-report-2014-to-2015

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2014-04-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the average charge-out rate of pension advisers in calculating the quantity and quality of advice that will be available to people retiring under the new pension arrangements announced in the 2014 Budget.

Lord Deighton

At Budget the government announced a new guarantee that everyone with a defined contribution pension will be offered free and impartial face-to-face guidance on their financial choices in retirement when they retire. The government is consulting on how best to deliver this guidance as part of its consultation, ‘Flexibility and Choice in Pensions’.

In addition, the government will work with the FCA to explore the extent to which regulated advice can be made more affordable through more cost effective delivery, such as through the development of online delivery channels.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2014-04-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what new measures they will put in place to protect against the mis-selling of financial advice to people retiring under the new pension arrangements announced in the 2014 Budget.

Lord Deighton

Alongside the pensions flexibility announced at Budget, the government announced a new guarantee that everyone with a defined contribution pension will be offered free and impartial face to face guidance on their financial choices in retirement when they retire. The Government is consulting on how best to deliver this guidance as part of its consultation, ‘Flexibility and Choice in Pensions’.

The guidance will be designed to help consumers navigate the options available and is not intended to replace the services of professional financial advice. The government expects that many consumers will go on to seek further advice and will ensure that the guidance equips consumers to choose the advisory service that suits their needs.

The government has asked the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to coordinate the development of robust standards for this guidance and a framework for monitoring compliance.

Professional financial advice is regulated by the FCA. The FCA’s statutory objectives and regulatory powers are geared to protect consumers. The FCA has committed to taking a proactive and interventionist approach to retail conduct regulation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2014-04-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the impact on public spending as a result of the new pension arrangements announced in the 2014 Budget.

Lord Deighton

The impact will depend on how people choose to use their pension savings, which is difficult to predict. The Government expects any impact to be small in the context of the other pension measures announced in this Parliament – including State Pension age changes, the introduction of the single tier pension and public service pension reform – which are projected to save around £17 billion in 2030 in today’s terms. The estimated net fiscal impact of pension changes announced in this Parliament can be found in Chart 1.12 of the Red Book here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/293759/37630_Budget_2014_Web_Accessible.pdf