Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of potential gaps in the provision of free period products in schools in England.

Answered by Baroness Barran

The Period Product Scheme is open to all state-funded primary schools, secondary schools and 16-19 organisations so that girls and women can have access to a wide range of period products in their place of study.

Take up of the scheme is monitored and reviewed regularly. Since its launch in January 2020, 99% of secondary schools and 94% of 16-19 organisations have used the scheme. Management information is published annually and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/period-products-scheme-management-information. The national supplier, phs, makes contact with all eligible schools and colleges annually to advise them of the scheme and provide details on how to order.

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Stedman-Scott on 28 April 2022 (HL7975), what plans they have to resume the activities of the Period Poverty Taskforce.

Answered by Baroness Barran

This Government takes the issue of period poverty very seriously and we are taking steps to ensure that period products are available and affordable for those most in need through the organisations closest to them.

Since January 2020, a Department for Education scheme provides free period products in schools and 16-19 education institutions in England. 97% of secondary schools, 92% of post 16 organisations and 68% primary schools have made at least one order since the scheme began in January 2020.

In March 2019 NHS England announced that it would offer period products to every hospital patient who needs them (including long-term in-patients).

As part of our wider strategy to make period products affordable and available for all women, we have also made it clear that a zero rate of VAT applies to period products now that the UK has left the EU. These products are essential so it is right that there is now no VAT charge.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to improve the speed and efficiency of the Financial Conduct Authority's authorisation process for financial services firms.

Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is operationally independent from Government, and is responsible for the authorisation processes for financial services firms. It is fully accountable to Parliament and the Treasury for how it discharges its statutory functions.

Both the government and the FCA are committed to ensuring the FCA has world-leading levels of operational effectiveness. The Government wrote to the FCA in December 2022 to highlight the importance of operational effectiveness for UK competitiveness. The FCA started publishing operating service metrics relating to authorisation processing on a quarterly basis in May 2023; these can be accessed on the FCA’s website.

Following the Government’s Call for Proposals last year, the FCA will start publishing additional operating metrics this summer, to support further scrutiny. These metrics will initially be published as part of the FCA’s Annual Report, and the report it is required to make on its implementation of its new secondary objective to facilitate the growth and competitiveness of the UK economy.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made an assessment of the regulatory regimes in (1) Singapore, (2) the United Arab Emirates, and (3) the European Union, in attracting the business of crypto and digital assets firms; and in doing so, whether they have identified any lessons to learn in seeking to establish the United Kingdom as a global crypto asset technology hub.

Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton

Last year, the government published its final proposals for the financial services regulation of cryptoassets in the UK and is currently working on legislation to implement those proposals.

In progressing the UK’s regulatory framework for cryptoassets, the government has been closely engaged to both monitor developments in other jurisdictions, and to support thought leadership on cryptoassets in international fora such as the Financial Stability Board.

The Treasury also has regular economic and financial dialogues with partners such as Singapore and the European Union to share knowledge and discuss opportunities for cooperation in financial services, including cryptoassets regulation.