Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had, or plan to have, with the Welsh Government or other interested parties concerning the operation of the Barnett formula with respect to Wales.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
There are currently no plans to modify the operation of the Barnett formula. The Barnett formula has stood the test of time because it is simple, efficient and provides a clear and certain outcome.
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury is in regular contact with his devolved government counterparts on matters of devolved government funding and the Barnett formula. Officials are also in regular dialogue on the operation of devolved government funding arrangements, including the Barnett formula.
Overall, the Welsh Government currently receives at least 20% more funding per person than equivalent UK Government spending in the rest of the UK. That translates into over £4 billion more in 2025-26.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 13 February (HL2022), what discussions they have had with representatives of channel ports regarding the introduction of EU import controls, and (1) whether these were written or oral discussions; (2) what dates these discussions were held; (3) what points of concern were raised, if any; and (4) what their response was to those concerns.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Government officials conducted in-depth engagement to develop the Border Target Operating Model. A wide selection of stakeholders involved at the border were invited to contribute, including representatives of channel ports. There were over 10,000 registrations for workshops and seminars over the engagement period in spring and summer 2023 and over 200 stakeholders provided written feedback. This included a range of border locations and other stakeholders involved in movements of goods across the channel. The Government responded to a range of questions on the requirements for safety and security controls for EU imports, due to be introduced from 31 October 2024. The Government is continuing to engage with stakeholders across affected sectors in all parts of the United Kingdom and the EU to ensure that they understand the changes outlined in the Border Target Operating Model. Baroness Neville-Rolfe also met with members of the ports industry in November 2023 to discuss the Border Target Operating Model.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions, if any, they have held with EU countries regarding the introduction of safety and security declaration requirements for EU imports on 31 October, and what were the contents of any such discussions.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Government officials engage regularly with officials from EU Member States to discuss new customs-related requirements, including safety and security declarations. This has included official visits to Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Denmark and Ireland with further engagement planned for Italy, Spain, Poland and Germany in 2024. Baroness Neville-Rolfe visited Belgium to discuss import controls with the Belgian Government and industry in early February 2024. Partners have been extremely helpful in communicating these requirements using their own stakeholder communication channels, and providing suggestions for further guidance that could be helpful. More formal communication of these changes to EU Member States took place in the Trade Specialised Committee on Customs Cooperation and Rules of Origin, the minutes of which can be found on gov.uk.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the economic impact of safety and security declaration requirements for EU imports.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
As is standard for such changes, any necessary impact assessment of the changes will be published alongside the legislation.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking ahead of the introduction of safety and security declaration requirements for EU imports on 31 October; and what assessment they have made of the impact of those import controls on channel ports.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Border Target Operating Model sets out the new approach to Safety and Security controls, applying to all imports. We are introducing the Model in a phased approach with plenty of time for industry to prepare. The dataset has been reduced to its most critical elements, ensuring the burden on trade is reduced whilst maintaining security outcomes.
The Government is engaging with industry to support readiness for the changes.
Enhancing our intelligence on imported goods will help Border Force to keep citizens safe from the most harmful goods brought into the country. It will also minimise disruption at the border, including at channel ports, by intercepting the highest harm goods before they enter the country, and supporting a more intelligence informed approach to risking and intervention, as well as facilitating the flow of legitimate trade by reducing the number of ‘false positive’ hits.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to undertake a detailed review of the effectiveness of the Barnett formula and its effect on allocations of finance to devolved governments within the UK.
Answered by Baroness Penn
Whilst the effective operation of the funding arrangements for the Devolved Administrations is monitored on an ongoing basis, the UK Government currently has no plans to undertake a formal review of the Barnett formula.
The Barnett formula is simple, efficient and provides a clear and certain outcome. For this reason, it has stood the test of time.
The Barnett formula ensures the same change in funding per person across the whole of the UK, while the underlying baseline funding reflects that needs are higher in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The devolved administrations are receiving over 20% more funding per person than equivalent UK Government spending in other parts of the UK.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Penn on 13 June (HL8243), what assessment they have made of whether or not banks are passing on higher interest rates to savers; and what discussions they have had with banks on this matter.
Answered by Baroness Penn
The Treasury is committed to ensuring people are supported to save, and can access a wide range of competitive savings products.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) monitors the speed and extent of banks’ pass-through of interest rate rises to their savings products, and has made clear that firms should be able to justify these decisions. Banks are expected to pass through higher interest rates to savers as they do to mortgage holders, and we are working closely with the FCA on this important issue.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they have in place to encourage banks to pass on higher interest rates to savers.
Answered by Baroness Penn
The Government is committed to ensuring people are supported to save, and that they can access a wide range of competitive savings products. The retail savings market currently offers a range of competitive options to savers, who can now access the highest rates in recent years on a variety of instant access and fixed-term products.
The Government launched the Help to Save scheme in September 2018 to directly encourage those on lower incomes to save. This encourages saving for those on Working Tax Credit or receiving Universal Credit. These savings accounts provide a bonus of 50p for every £1 saved over 4 years.
The Government has also introduced other measures in recent years to encourage saving. Individuals can save up to £20,000 into their ISA each year and coupled with the Personal Savings Allowance of up to £1,000 for basic rate taxpayers and up to £500 for higher rate taxpayers, around 95% of people with savings income pay no tax on that income.
The Lifetime ISA is a long-term savings product to encourage younger people to save for their first home or for later life. The government provides a 25% bonus on savings of up to £4,000 each year, provided the savings are kept for the long-term.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they have in place to encourage saving.
Answered by Baroness Penn
The Government is committed to ensuring people are supported to save, and that they can access a wide range of competitive savings products. The retail savings market currently offers a range of competitive options to savers, who can now access the highest rates in recent years on a variety of instant access and fixed-term products.
The Government launched the Help to Save scheme in September 2018 to directly encourage those on lower incomes to save. This encourages saving for those on Working Tax Credit or receiving Universal Credit. These savings accounts provide a bonus of 50p for every £1 saved over 4 years.
The Government has also introduced other measures in recent years to encourage saving. Individuals can save up to £20,000 into their ISA each year and coupled with the Personal Savings Allowance of up to £1,000 for basic rate taxpayers and up to £500 for higher rate taxpayers, around 95% of people with savings income pay no tax on that income.
The Lifetime ISA is a long-term savings product to encourage younger people to save for their first home or for later life. The government provides a 25% bonus on savings of up to £4,000 each year, provided the savings are kept for the long-term.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with retail banks about the importance of ATMs to communities; and what responses they have received from the retail banking sector, if any.
Answered by Baroness Penn
As the Noble Lord is aware, the Government has confirmed that it will legislate to protect access to cash as part of the Financial Services and Markets Bill.
Further to the answer given on 26 May, I would also highlight that the FCA published guidance in September 2020 setting out its expectations of firms when they are deciding to reduce their physical branches or the number of free-to-use ATMs. On 23 February 2022, the FCA published best practice feedback for firms that are intending to close bank branches or ATMs to give firms greater clarity on FCA expectations with regards to the quality of analysis and consideration of customer needs. The FCA also shared areas that it expects to see improvements in to ensure closure decisions are taken in a way that treats customers fairly.
With regards to engagement, Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available on the gov.uk website.