Written Statements

Monday 18th November 2024 Written Statements

Monday 18 November 2024

Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act: Subscriptions Implementation Consultation

Monday 18th November 2024 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Justin Madders)]

The Department for Business and Trade has today published a consultation called “Consultation on the implementation of the new subscriptions contracts regime”.

The consultation seeks views on provisions to be made in secondary legislation to set out how the regime operates and is related to the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act, which received Royal Assent on 24 May 2024.

Chapter 2 of part 4 of the Act establishes rules for subscription contracts between traders and consumers. The purpose of the measures is to protect consumers from being trapped in unwanted subscription contracts. The new rules in the Act ensure that consumers:

Have clear information before signing up to a subscription;

Receive reminders about their ongoing subscriptions;

Have a 14-day period to cancel after a subscription’s free or discounted trial period automatically rolls on to a full price period, or a subscription auto-renews on to a 12-month or longer period; and

Can exit a subscription generally as easily as they signed up, including being able to cancel online if they signed up online.

Before the new rules come into force, secondary legislation is needed. The consultation will ensure that the subscription regime is effectively implemented in line with the objectives of the Act. The consultation asks stakeholders to comment on a number of key proposals, including how returns and refunds work if a consumer exercises a statutory cancellation right, the extension of cooling-off periods, and how information notices must be provided.

The consultation will be open for 12 weeks and the Government will publish our response at a future point. A copy of the consultation will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses and published on gov.uk.

[HCWS223]

NatWest Group: Government Shareholding

Monday 18th November 2024 Written Statements

[The Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Tulip Siddiq)]

I would like to update the House on the disposal of £1 billion-worth of Government-owned NatWest Group—formerly Royal Bank of Scotland—shares, representing approximately 3.2% of the company, by way of a directed buyback transaction on 11 November 2024.

The Government’s remaining shareholding represents approximately 11.4% of voting rights in the company, which demonstrates the continued progress being made towards the Government’s intention to return their shareholding in NatWest to private ownership by 2025-26.

Rationale

The Government are committed to returning NatWest to full private ownership, given that the original policy objective for the intervention in NatWest—to preserve financial and economic stability at a time of crisis—has long been achieved. The Government only conduct sales of NatWest shares when it represents value for money to do so and market conditions allow.

Format and timing

The Government, supported by advice from UK Government Investments, concluded that selling shares to NatWest, in a single bilateral transaction, represented value for money.

Share buybacks are a common practice undertaken by companies looking to efficiently deploy their excess capital. Following approval of amendments to the buyback contract between HM Treasury and NatWest by non-Government shareholders at the 2024 NatWest annual general meeting, the bank is now able to purchase up to 15% of its share capital from HMT on a rolling 12-month basis. This is the fifth sale of shares via an off-market share sale directly to the company.

The sale concluded on 11 November 2024, with NatWest purchasing a limited number of its Government-owned shares. A total of approximately 262.6 million shares—around 3.2% of the bank—were sold at the 8 November closing price of 380.8p per share. The reduction in the Government’s shareholding is less than the percentage sold following the cancellation of shares by NatWest. Following this transaction, the Government’s shareholding stands at approximately 11.4%.

Details of the sale are summarised below:

Government Debt Issuance Pilot: Distributed Ledger Technology

Monday 18th November 2024 Written Statements

[The Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Tulip Siddiq)]

My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced on Thursday 14 November at Mansion House that the Government intend to launch a pilot digital gilt instrument (DIGIT), using distributed ledger technology.

Distributed ledger technology (DLT) refers to a variety of technologies characterised by their use of networks of ledgers that update and synchronise simultaneously. DLT has the exciting potential in the long term to make transactions more efficient. DLT also brings other benefits across markets, such as automation, greater resilience, and transparency.

The Government’s intention is to work with industry to test this new technology across the life cycle of a Government debt instrument. This will enable the Government to explore the potential benefits that DLT could bring to the debt issuance process, as well as stimulate the wider development of DLT platforms and infrastructures across UK capital markets.

This issuance will support the Government’s commitment to maintaining the UK as a world leading and global financial centre. DLT is being explored with increasing ambition by other financial centres and there is potential for significant growth in the use and exchange of digital assets in the coming years. The Government acting now will help position both itself and the UK market to adapt to these changes.

This pilot aims to issue a digital bond with similar features to a conventional gilt. It will utilise the digital securities sandbox (DSS), which opened for applications in September 2024. The DSS provides a regulatory environment through which firms can use DLT to create, trade and administer securities, while being supervised by the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority. It allows market participants to experiment with DLT-based market infrastructures in a controlled and monitored setting, ensuring that any potential risks are managed while fostering innovation.

The pilot is experimental in nature and, therefore, will sit outside of and be separate from the Debt Management Office’s gilt and Treasury bill operations. This will ensure that the pilot will be independent of our world-class debt management programme.

The Government will engage with the sector in the new year on what an issuance could look like and what technology options are available to facilitate an issuance.

[HCWS228]

UK and Romania Double Taxation Convention

Monday 18th November 2024 Written Statements

[The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (James Murray)]

A double taxation convention with Romania was signed in London on 13 November 2024. The text of the convention is available on HM Revenue and Customs’ pages of the www.gov.uk website and will be deposited in the Libraries of both Houses. The text of the convention will be scheduled to a draft Order in Council and laid before the House of Commons in due course.

[HCWS229]

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority Direction: Operation Fieldfare

Monday 18th November 2024 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Ed Miliband)]

I am today laying a new designation direction to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority in respect of Operation Fieldfare. The direction has been given in accordance with sections 3 and 5 of the Energy Act 2004.

This direction will expand the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s responsibilities under the Energy Act 2004 to allow them to collect and dispose of certain high-activity sealed sources in the UK.

[HCWS225]

European Political Community: Budapest Summit

Monday 18th November 2024 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr David Lammy)]

On Thursday 7 November, the Prime Minister attended the European Political Community summit in Budapest, Hungary. Four months after the UK hosted the EPC at Blenheim Palace, 48 leaders from across the continent gathered to discuss our shared challenges, and how better to work together to respond to them, with a focus on European security and support to Ukraine; tackling organised immigration crime; and bolstering European economic security and connectivity. The Minister for the Cabinet Office, my right hon. Friend the Member for Torfaen (Nick Thomas-Symonds) accompanied the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister called for increased international co-operation in tackling the gangs who profit from organised immigration crime, and highlighted £75 million of recently announced additional funding for the UK’s border security command. He chaired the leaders’ roundtable discussion on migration, attended by Croatia, Denmark, Greece, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and the President of the European Council. To advance our collaboration with key European partners in the fight against organised immigration crime, the Prime Minister agreed new bilateral initiatives with Serbia, Kosovo and North Macedonia, which will further intelligence sharing and operational co-operation.

In a meeting with President Zelensky, the Prime Minister reiterated our unwavering support for Ukraine, highlighting the UK’s new package of 56 sanctions targeting Russia’s military-industrial complex and Russian-backed mercenary groups. The sanctions directly target the supply of Russian military equipment crucial to carrying out Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine. The Prime Minister condemned in the strongest possible terms the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s direct support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, emphasising this was proof of Putin’s growing desperation.

Attending the second leader-level meeting of European Friends of Moldova, chaired by re-elected Moldovan President Sandu, the Prime Minister underlined the UK’s continued support to Moldova in the face of significant disruption from Russia during its recent elections. Leaders from France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Romania and the Presidents of the EU Commission and European Council also attended.

The Prime Minister also met a range of European leaders, including those from Albania, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Finland, Ireland, Kosovo, Norway, Poland, Portugal and Serbia, as well as EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. With Polish Prime Minister Tusk, he discussed the mutual desire to step up co-operation on defence, and agreed to work more closely to tackle organised immigration crime. With Czech Prime Minister Fiala, he welcomed the recently announced investment by Czech company CEZ into Rolls-Royce SMR, which will boost our shared nuclear power ambition and support British industry. With President von der Leyen, he discussed the UK/EU partnership and the need to work together to tackle shared challenges.

The EPC will next meet in Albania in the first half of 2025.

[HCWS230]

Sudan Funding Uplift

Monday 18th November 2024 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr David Lammy)]

I would like to update the House on UK action to respond to the ongoing conflict in Sudan, including our support to the Sudanese people affected by violence.

The conflict between the Sudanese armed forces and Rapid Support Forces in Sudan has created one of the world’s most pressing humanitarian emergencies. By 2025, 30 million people are expected to need humanitarian assistance. The war has now also caused the worst displacement crisis in the world, with over 11 million people displaced. The conflict is having a disproportionate impact on woman and girls, who are worst affected by a surge in conflict-related sexual violence and over-represented among the displaced.

In August, the Minister for Development, the right hon. Anneliese Dodds MP, visited South Sudan and Ethiopia, seeing at first hand the regional impact of the conflict. She heard from people who had been forced to flee violence in Sudan, as well as pro-democracy Sudanese civil society groups to hear how the UK can push forward efforts to secure unrestricted humanitarian access and support a sustained, meaningful and inclusive peace process with the African Union.

The UK remains committed to supporting the people of Sudan, including those forced to flee across borders to neighbouring countries. That is why, yesterday, I announced a £113 million package of support to over a million people affected by violence in Sudan, South Sudan, Chad and Uganda. With this announcement, the UK has doubled our aid in response to the conflict in Sudan this year to £227 million.

The new funding will support UN and NGO partners, providing food, cash, shelter, medical assistance, water and sanitation. Education Cannot Wait will also receive a £10 million boost, to provide safe learning spaces and psychosocial support for education and safe learning spaces for 200,000 vulnerable children in refugee and host communities in Chad, Ethiopia, Libya, South Sudan, Central African Republic and Uganda.

However, increased funding alone will not prevent millions from starving in the coming months. Last week, the SAF decided to keep the Adré border crossing open for three more months. This is a welcome move, but since Adré reopened in August, a combination of bureaucratic impediments heavy rain and flooding have prevented the scale up of aid entering Sudan and reaching those in most need. We estimate that just 1.8% of the food needed reached the millions of food insecure people in Darfur.

The UK is using all the diplomatic levers at its disposal to galvanise international pressure on the warring parties to improve humanitarian access and the protection of civilians—including through our role as the UN Security Council penholder on Sudan.

Today, as part of the UK’s presidency of the UN Security Council, I will convene international partners in New York to discuss the humanitarian situation in Sudan, with the aim of agreeing concerted and collective action to pressure the warring parties to remove obstacles to humanitarian operations. The Sudanese armed forces must urgently reopen the Adré border crossing and the Rapid Support Forces must stop blocking aid from moving freely throughout Sudan.

In a further development, today, on 18 November, despite 14 votes in favour and zero abstentions, the UN Security Council failed to adopt a resolution led by the UK and Sierra Leone on the protection of civilians in Sudan due to a Russian veto. This resolution called for the development of a compliance mechanism for the Jeddah declaration, practical options to support mediation efforts, and the establishment of humanitarian pauses. It also aimed to galvanise action towards agreement on a comprehensive, nationwide ceasefire which is the most effective way to enhance the protection of civilians.

It was designed to build upon the UN Security Council open meeting chaired by the Minister for Africa, Lord Collins, which stressed the urgent need to protect civilians in the absence of a national ceasefire and increase support for the UN Secretary-General’s recommendations.

Yet Russia decided to block this critical resolution. Russia’s veto risks sending a message to the warring parties that they can act with impunity.

But the UK’s response to this historic crisis remains consistent and unwavering. We will not let Sudan become a forgotten conflict.

[HCWS231]

Folic Acid Fortification of Flour

Monday 18th November 2024 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Andrew Gwynne)]

I wish to update the House that on Thursday 14 November the Government laid legislation to fortify flour with folic acid to reduce the risk of life-changing conditions in pregnancies, such as spina bifida. Neural tube defects happen in the first few weeks of pregnancy, often before a woman even knows that she is pregnant. These can be devastating conditions for individuals and their families.

Flour is already fortified with calcium, niacin, thiamine and iron for public health reasons. Adding folic acid will mean foods made with non-wholemeal wheat flour, such as bread, will actively help avoid around 200 neural tube defects each year—around 20% of the annual UK total.

This significant development in improving the health outcomes for women and babies has been many years in its development and many Members across both Houses have shown a keen interest in its progression. I am extremely pleased we have now reached the point of implementation and acknowledge the dedication and efforts of all those involved.

We have worked in close collaboration with the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, as well as colleagues in devolved Governments, to agree this policy. These changes will be implemented by DEFRA through the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998 in England and similar legislation in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will be brought forward very soon. The legislation on folic acid will come into effect across all four nations in December 2026, giving industry 24 months to implement the changes.

The 24-month implementation period is in recognition of the considerable efforts required by industry to add folic acid to flour and relabel the large number of products that contain flour. The Government will continue to engage with industry on these challenges.

There is strong evidence that many neural tube defects can be prevented by increasing women’s intake of folic acid, which is why existing pregnancy advice to women who are trying to conceive or who are likely to become pregnant is to take a daily supplement of 400 micrograms of folic acid before conception and up until week 12 of pregnancy. We will continue to offer this advice as the fortification of flour is intended to support, not replace, current supplementation advice for individuals.

These changes will also support the Government’s commitment to improving women’s health and their ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children ever.

[HCWS224]

Port Talbot Transition Board

Monday 18th November 2024 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Wales (Jo Stevens)]

Today I can confirm that on 16 November, I announced a £13 million business start-up, growth and resilience fund to support businesses and individuals affected by Tata Steel’s decision to transition to greener steelmaking.

This is the next announcement of funding from the £80 million transition board fund, further displaying this Government’s commitment to support those impacted within Port Talbot and the wider community.

This fund will have three parts. This includes a start-up fund aimed at helping former employees of Tata Steel, former contractors and close family members who wish to set up their own businesses. Grants of up to £10,000 are available.

The second part is a business growth fund for local businesses to grow and expand with grants between £25,000 and £250,000.

The third part of this fund is the business resilience fund for businesses that are not in the direct supply chain of Tata Steel, but are still impacted by the changes, like local shops and cafés. Grants will be between £2,500 and £25,000.

This funding will be delivered in conjunction with the Welsh Government and Neath Port Talbot Council, ensuring that businesses within the area are able to survive the shock to the local economy.

Businesses and individuals can register an interest or send any inquiries to this email address: [e-mail]

[HCWS227]