Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Desmond Swayne and Lord Hammond of Runnymede(5 years, 7 months ago)
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Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)
The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr Philip Hammond)
UK financial services are globally competitive, and this Government are focused on maintaining that competitiveness. Leaving the EU with a deal will ensure that financial services businesses can continue to operate across borders into the EU. Through our global financial partnerships initiative, we will also build a new framework for rest-of-the-world cross-border financial services.
Sir Desmond Swayne
How will we ensure that those businesses do not end up being regulated from overseas?
Mr Hammond
We have always been clear that the UK must maintain control of the regulations governing one of its most important sectors and, crucially, a sector that the UK taxpayer stands behind. Those regulations have to be made in the UK. The agreement we have negotiated with the EU in the political declaration means that each side would make its own choices on regulation through its own legislative processes, and if any of these lead to our respective regulatory regimes no longer being equivalent, either side would have the right to withdraw market access.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Desmond Swayne and Lord Hammond of Runnymede(5 years, 9 months ago)
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Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)
The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr Philip Hammond)
Leaving the EU with a deal remains the Government’s top priority, but as a responsible Government we are, of course, also making preparations to ensure that the country is ready for every eventuality across all sectors of the economy. I have made substantial funding available to prepare for the UK’s exit from the EU in all scenarios. HMRC has written on no-deal preparations to 145,000 EU-only traders, and the Government have produced a partner pack to support stakeholders in preparing for a no-deal scenario.
Sir Desmond Swayne
And worth every penny, isn’t it? How much in total is the Chancellor spending on delivering the people’s decision?
Mr Hammond
Let me put it this way: since 2016 I have made more than £4.2 billion available for EU exit planning, and funding for the 2019-20 financial year has now been allocated to Departments. That is funding to prepare the Government for leaving the EU in any scenario. In addition, I have made arrangements to ensure that Departments and the devolved Administrations can fund measures to address urgent civil contingencies in a no-deal scenario.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Desmond Swayne and Lord Hammond of Runnymede(7 years, 1 month ago)
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Mr Hammond
I am always very open to receiving from colleagues around the House ideas for specifically targeted taxes. If my hon. Friend has such an idea I would be very pleased to receive it.
Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)
The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr Philip Hammond)
As we look ahead to the GDP figures out tomorrow and to the Budget in a month’s time, my focus is on the three key challenges we need to meet as we seek to build an economy that works for everyone: first, protecting the economy by managing short-term uncertainty; secondly, achieving a good Brexit outcome; and, thirdly, addressing the longer term productivity challenge to ensure that real wages, and thus living standards, can continue to rise. Everything my Department does will be focused towards those three objectives.
Sir Desmond Swayne
What revenue has the privatisation programme raised and what would be the cost of nationalising the utilities?
Mr Hammond
I refer my right hon. Friend to the analysis of the Opposition party’s proposals, if we can call them that, done by the Conservative party at the time of the general election. The Government’s policy is to sell assets when there is no longer a policy reason to retain them and to reinvest the proceeds of such sales in policy priorities. Nationalising assets would increase public sector net debt, which would increase our debt interest bill and divert public spending away from more valuable areas. It would also mean that the future investment needs of any nationalised industries would have to compete for capital with our public services.