Written Statements
(4 years, 9 months ago)
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Media Acquisition: Public Interest Intervention Notice
(4 years, 9 months ago)
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The Minister for Sport, Media and Creative Industries (Nigel Adams)
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Baroness Morgan of Cotes, has made the following statement:
On 9 January DCMS officials wrote to the Daily Mail and General Trust pic (DMGT) to inform them that the Secretary of State for DCMS was ‘minded to’ issue a public interest intervention notice (PIIN). She has confirmed today that she is issuing the PIIN.
This relates to concerns she has that there may be public interest considerations—as set out in section 58(2B) of Enterprise Act 2002—that are relevant to the recent acquisition of JPI Media Publications Limited, and thus the i newspaper, by DMGT and that these concerns warrant further investigation.
The Secretary of State invited the parties to submit representations to her, which they have done. She has noted their representations regarding protections for editorial independence, including commercial incentives for maintaining the editorial position of the i. However, she continues to believe that it may be the case that the public interest consideration of sufficient plurality of viewpoints in newspapers is relevant to this merger. She thus considers it appropriate to intervene in this matter.
At this stage, the Secretary of State’s decision to issue the PIIN triggers the requirement for the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to report to her on jurisdictional and competition matters; and for Ofcom to report to her on the media public interest consideration in section 58(2B) of the Enterprise Act 2002—namely, the need for, to the extent that it is reasonable and practicable, a sufficient plurality of views in newspapers in each market for newspapers in the United Kingdom or a part of the United Kingdom. She has asked both the CMA and Ofcom to report back to her by 13 March 2020.
The Secretary of State’s role in this process is quasi-judicial and procedures are in place to ensure that she acts independently and follows a process which is scrupulously fair, transparent and impartial.
DCMS will update Parliament once both reports from the regulators have been received and considered.
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ECOFIN
(4 years, 9 months ago)
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The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Sajid Javid)
A meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs (ECOFIN) Council will be held in Brussels on 21 January 2020. The Council will discuss the following:
Early morning session
The Eurogroup president will brief the Council on the outcomes of the 20 January meeting of the Eurogroup, and the European Commission will provide an update on the current economic situation in the EU. Following this, Ministers will take stock of the process of nominating a European candidate for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) presidency.
Current financial services legislative proposals
The Croatian presidency will provide an update on current legislative proposals in the field of financial services.
Presidency work programme
The Croatian presidency will present its work programme for January to June 2020.
European Green Deal
The European Commission will present the economic and financial aspects of the European Green Deal.
European semester r2020
To launch the new European semester exercise, the European Commission will present the annual sustainable growth strategy, the alert mechanism report, and the Euro area recommendation.
Tax challenges arising from digitalisation
The Council will hold an exchange of views on the state of play of negotiations in the OECD on tax challenges arising from digitalisation.
I would also like to inform the House about the ECOFIN meetings that took place on 5 December 2019 and 8 November 2019.
ECOFIN: 5 December 2019
A meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs (ECOFIN) Council was held in Brussels on 5 December 2019. The UK was represented by Matthew Taylor, Director Europe, HM Treasury.
The Council discussed the following:
Early morning session
The Eurogroup president briefed the Council on the outcomes of the 4 December meeting of the Eurogroup, and the European Commission provided an update on the current economic situation in the EU.
Banking Union
The Council noted a report on progress on the banking union.
AOB: Directive as regards disclosure of income tax information
Ministers held an exchange of views on the legal basis for country-by-country reporting of incometax information, as requested by Sweden.
Current financial services legislative proposals
The Commission provided an update on current legislative files in the field of financial services.
Energy taxation
The Council adopted conclusions in regards to energy taxation.
European financial architecture for development
The Council adopted conclusions on the European financial architecture for development.
Climate action work plan
In response to discussions at September informal ECOFIN meeting, the Council approved the proposed work plan on climate action.
“Stable-coins”
The Council and Commission adopted a joint statement on “stable-coins”.
Capital Markets Union
The Commission gave an update on the capital markets union, welcoming work on sustainable finance and FinTech.
Anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing
The Council adopted the conclusions on proposed changes to the future EU framework for anti-money laundering and the financing of counter-terrorism.
Sustainable finance
The Council held an exchange of views the sustainable finance.
Non-performing loans
The Commission updated on the action plan for non-performing loans in Europe.
Stability and growth pact
The Council issued decisions confirming no effective action has been taken by Hungary and Romania in response to Council recommendations of June 2019.
AOB: EU list of non-co-operative tax jurisdictions
As an AOB, the Danish delegation requested Ministers to strengthen ambitions on the EU list of non-co-operative tax jurisdictions.
ECOFIN: 8 November 2019
A meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) was held in Brussels on 8 November 2019. The UK was represented by Mark Bowman (Director General, International Finance, HM Treasury). The Council discussed the following:
Excise duties
The Council discussed the directive on general arrangements for excise duty (recast); the regulation on administrative co-operation of the content of electronic registers; and amendments to the directive on the structures of excise duty on alcohol.
VAT data from payment service providers
The Council agreed a general approach on amendments to: the directive on the common system of VAT with regards to requirements for payment service providers; and the regulation on administrative co-operation in the field of VAT concerning measures to combat VAT fraud.
VAT treatment for small enterprises
The Council agreed amendments to the directive on the common system of VAT in regards to the special scheme for small enterprises.
Current financial services legislative proposals
The Finnish presidency provided an update on current legislative proposals in the field of financial services.
European Central Bank – Executive Board member
The Council adopted a recommendation to the European Council on the appointment of a new member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank.
Digital taxation
The Council was updated on the current state of play of digital taxation and discussed the way forward.
European Fiscal Board report
The Council were presented with the 2019 annual report of the European Fiscal Board.
EU statistical package
The Council adopted Council conclusions on the EU statistical package and to review progress achieved.
Climate finance
The Council adopted Council conclusions on climate finance for the COP25 climate summit.
Follow-up to international meetings
The presidency and Commission informed the Council of the main outcomes of the G20 meeting of Finance Ministers and central bank governors and the IMF and World Bank annual meetings held in October 2019.
Stable coins
As an AOB, the presidency informed the Council about a joint statement on stable-coins ahead of December ECOFIN.
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Countering Terrorism
(4 years, 9 months ago)
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The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Priti Patel)
The Government’s first priority is to keep families, communities and our country safe. Following the terrorist attack at Fishmongers’ Hall in November 2019 we have reviewed our overall approach to counter-terrorism and the package of measures we have announced today represents a major shift in the UK’s approach to the sentencing and management of terrorist offenders.
The counter-terrorism strategy—CONTEST—was strengthened in 2018 and remains one of the most comprehensive approaches to countering terrorism in the world. But we know the threat we face will to continue to diversify and evolve as it has done in recent years and we must continually assess the effectiveness of our action and remain flexible in adapting our approach.
The package announced today includes a major overhaul of prisons and probation, including tougher monitoring conditions for terrorist offenders and doubling the number of counter-terrorism probation officers. This will also include a full independent review of the multi-agency public protection arrangements. Jonathan Hall QC will lead this review.
A new Counter-Terrorism (Sentencing and Release) Bill, will be introduced in the first 100 days of this Government. The Bill will include measures that will force dangerous terrorist offenders who receive extended determinate sentences to serve the whole time behind bars and will introduce a new statutory minimum sentence of 14 years in prison, which can be applied to those convicted of the most serious terrorist offences.
Funding for CT policing will also grow to £906 million in 2020-21, a £90 million year-on-year increase. The money will support and maintain the record high numbers of ongoing counter-terrorism policing investigations and ensure a swift and effective response to the threat.
The Government will also review the support available to victims of terrorism, including families and loved ones, and immediately invest £500,000 to increase the support provided by the victims of terrorism unit, to ensure more victims get the support and advice they need, faster.
This package of measures sets out how we will continue to build on the UK’s formidable capabilities, experience and expertise to tackle the growing and changing threat from terrorism in all its forms.
[HCWS46]