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Written Question
Social Services: Finance
Wednesday 27th March 2024

Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of funding for social care.

Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The government has made available up to £8.6bn in additional funding over this financial year and next to support adult social care and discharge. This includes £500m announced in January which has specifically been made available to support local authorities with the cost of social care in 2024-25 in response to representations from local government stakeholders. This funding will enable local authorities to buy more care packages, help people leave hospital on time, improve workforce recruitment and retention, and reduce waiting times for care.

At Spring Budget, the government announced it is investing £165 million over the next 4 years to significantly expand the capacity of the children’s home estate in England, improving outcomes for looked after children and unlocking productivity savings by reducing local government reliance on emergency provision. The government is also exploring further ways to combat profiteering and bring down costs in the children’s care market. This is in addition to the £200 million the government has already committed in response to the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care.


Written Question
Bank of England
Wednesday 27th March 2024

Asked by: Lord Sharkey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what, if any, statutory powers they have to issue binding directions to the Bank of England; and on how many occasions in each year since 2007 they have been exercised.

Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Treasury has statutory powers to issue directions to the Bank of England, which can only be used under specific conditions or circumstances. None of the powers outlined below have ever been used.

  • Under section 4 of the Bank of England Act 1946, the Treasury may direct the Bank, after consultation with the Governor, to action that is deemed to be necessary in the public interest. This power of direction applies to all of the Bank’s activities, with the exception of monetary policy and the exercise of the Bank’s functions as the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).

  • Under section 19 of the Bank of England Act 1998, the Treasury may by order, after consultation with the Governor, direct the Bank with respect to monetary policy if it is deemed to be in the public interest and required by extreme economic circumstances.

  • Under section 410 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, the Treasury may direct the PRA and the Bank to not take an action that would be incompatible with the UK’s international obligations.

  • Under Section 61 of the Financial Services Act 2012, the Treasury may direct the Bank on specific measures relating to the assistance to or stabilisation of financial institutions.

The Bank of England also has powers to direct the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Payment Systems Regulator (PSR).

  • Under section 9H of the Bank of England Act 1998, the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) has powers of direction over the PRA and FCA (limited to the use of specific macroprudential tools). To date, the FPC has only ever used this power to implement the Leverage Ratio.

  • Under sections 9Y and 9Z of the Bank of England Act 1998, the Bank may direct the FCA to provide documents or information that the Bank reasonably requires for its financial stability functions. This power has never been used.

  • Under section 100 of the Financial Services (Banking Reform) Act 2013, the Bank has the power to direct the PSR not to exercise its powers, under specific circumstances. This power has never been used.


Written Question
Payments: Regulation
Wednesday 27th March 2024

Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication of the draft Payment Services (Amendment) Regulations 2024, what steps they are taking to introduce legal safeguards to protect consumer rights and ensure transparency in the process of delaying payments for further investigation.

Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government takes the issue of fraud very seriously and is dedicated to protecting the public from this devastating crime.

The government has published draft legislation that allows the sending of payments to be delayed where there are reasonable grounds to suspect fraud or dishonesty, and more time is needed to contact the customer or relevant third parties.

Subject to some exceptions to ensure Payment Service Providers (PSPs) meet other legal obligations, for example around tackling financial crime, PSPs will be obliged to inform the customer, set out the reasoning behind a delay, and what information or actions are needed to enable the PSP to decide whether to execute the payment.

The government intends to introduce this legislation in summer 2024 and, subject to Parliamentary approval, for it to come into force on 7 October 2024.


Written Question
Bank of England
Wednesday 27th March 2024

Asked by: Lord Sharkey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what, if any, statutory powers the Bank of England has to issue binding directions to (1) the Prudential Regulation Authority, (2) the Financial Conduct Authority, and (3) the Payment Systems Regulator; and on how many occasions in each year since 2007 they have been exercised.

Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Treasury has statutory powers to issue directions to the Bank of England, which can only be used under specific conditions or circumstances. None of the powers outlined below have ever been used.

  • Under section 4 of the Bank of England Act 1946, the Treasury may direct the Bank, after consultation with the Governor, to action that is deemed to be necessary in the public interest. This power of direction applies to all of the Bank’s activities, with the exception of monetary policy and the exercise of the Bank’s functions as the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).

  • Under section 19 of the Bank of England Act 1998, the Treasury may by order, after consultation with the Governor, direct the Bank with respect to monetary policy if it is deemed to be in the public interest and required by extreme economic circumstances.

  • Under section 410 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, the Treasury may direct the PRA and the Bank to not take an action that would be incompatible with the UK’s international obligations.

  • Under Section 61 of the Financial Services Act 2012, the Treasury may direct the Bank on specific measures relating to the assistance to or stabilisation of financial institutions.

The Bank of England also has powers to direct the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Payment Systems Regulator (PSR).

  • Under section 9H of the Bank of England Act 1998, the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) has powers of direction over the PRA and FCA (limited to the use of specific macroprudential tools). To date, the FPC has only ever used this power to implement the Leverage Ratio.

  • Under sections 9Y and 9Z of the Bank of England Act 1998, the Bank may direct the FCA to provide documents or information that the Bank reasonably requires for its financial stability functions. This power has never been used.

  • Under section 100 of the Financial Services (Banking Reform) Act 2013, the Bank has the power to direct the PSR not to exercise its powers, under specific circumstances. This power has never been used.


Written Question
Pay
Wednesday 27th March 2024

Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of slowing wage growth on household finances and consumer spending; and what steps they are taking to mitigate any negative impact.

Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

Real wages have increased for seven consecutive months and are 1.1% above their pre-pandemic level.

ONS retail sales volumes increased by 3.4% on the month in January, representing a full recovery of the decline seen in December 2023.


Written Question
EU Budget: Contributions
Wednesday 27th March 2024

Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton on 12 March (HL Deb col 1905), how much money the United Kingdom pays to the European Union annually; on what that money is spent; and what plans they have, and to what timescale, for its reduction.

Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

Details of how much money the UK has paid the EU under the Withdrawal Agreement, its purposes, forecasts of future payments and timings are set out in the annual European Union Finances Statement. The most recent version covers payments made in 2023 and is available in the library of the House and on Gov.uk.


Written Question
National Insurance Contributions: Personal Income
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department conducted distributional analysis of the impact of the reduction to National Insurance contributions announced in the Spring Budget 2024 on people in different income brackets.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

HM Treasury published distributional analysis at Spring Budget 2024, which can be found here:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65e83ed008eef600115a5660/Impact_on_households_-_SB24_FINAL.pdf


Written Question
Financial Services: Standards
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to publish a report on the impact of Consumer Duty on consumer contact with financial services firms in the 12 months since it's establishment.

Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government has no plans to publish a report on the impact of the Consumer Duty.

The Consumer Duty was introduced by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is operationally independent from Government and is directly accountable to Parliament for how it carries out its functions. The FCA has committed to monitoring the outcomes experienced by different consumer groups, including those in vulnerable circumstances, to check they are not being disadvantaged as a result of the Duty. It also publishes information about the implementation of the Consumer Duty by firms, including examples of good practice and areas for improvement, on its website: https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/consumer-duty

The Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 introduced a new requirement on the financial services regulators to keep their rules under review, and to publish a statement of policy for how they conduct rule reviews. The FCA’s rule review framework can be found at: https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/corporate-documents/our-rule-review-framework.


Written Question
Empty Property: Business Rates
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to question 1 of his Department's consultation on business rates avoidance and evasion, published in July 2023, and to page 37 of his Department's publication entitled, Spring Budget 2024: Policy Costings, published in March 2024, whether his Department made an assessment of the potential merits of extending the reset period for empty property relief to six months.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

Responses to the Business Rates Avoidance and Evasion consultation made clear that avoidance of business rates through abuse of Empty Property Relief (EPR) is an area we need to take action on. Most respondents, and all those from local government, agreed that extending the EPR ‘reset period’ is an effective means of reducing rates avoidance. Extending the reset period to 13 weeks will help ensure a level playing field between ratepayers while maintaining support for landlords while they seek new tenants for vacant properties.


Written Question
Empty Property: Business Rates
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: James Murray (Labour (Co-op) - Ealing North)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to question 1 of his Department's consultation on business rates avoidance and evasion, published in July 2023, and to page 37 of his Department's publication entitled, Spring Budget 2024: Policy Costings, published in March 2024, whether his Department made an estimate of the Exchequer impact of extending the reset period for empty property relief to six months.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

Responses to the Business Rates Avoidance and Evasion consultation made clear that avoidance of business rates through abuse of Empty Property Relief (EPR) is an area we need to take action on. Most respondents, and all those from local government, agreed that extending the EPR ‘reset period’ is an effective means of reducing rates avoidance. Extending the reset period to 13 weeks will help ensure a level playing field between ratepayers while maintaining support for landlords while they seek new tenants for vacant properties.