Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the UK’s taxation of the gambling sector in comparison to rates in foreign jurisdictions
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK has seven gambling duties, which apply to different forms of gambling at different rates. For instance, bingo duty is charged at 10% of gross gambling yield, and Remote Gaming Duty is 21% of gross gambling yield.
No formal assessment of the UK’s taxation of the gambling sector, compared to foreign jurisdictions, has been made. Any such assessment would need to consider the varying regulatory frameworks of other countries, as well as their specific duties and rates. HM Treasury and HMRC make regular informal assessments of the UK's gambling regime in international comparison.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of tax avoidance schemes operated by UK licensed gambling companies.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government keeps all tax avoidance risks, including UK licensed gambling companies, under review as part of routine tax compliance monitoring.
The UK has seven separate gambling duties and, in total, the gambling industry paid £3.4bn a year in duty in 2023/24.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential benefits to public health of using the tax system to disincentivise consumption of online gambling products.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is committed to strengthening protections to ensure that people can continue to enjoy gambling as a pastime without the harms that can ensue from harmful gambling. We are acutely aware of the impact harmful gambling can have on individuals and their families. We are committed to reviewing the best available evidence from a wide range of sources and working with all stakeholders in order to support the sector and ensure there are robust protections in place to protect those at risk.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Advertising Standards Authority regarding the compliance of gaming companies that are advertising products containing loot boxes with current UK advertising codes.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
My Department meets regularly with representatives of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) on a range of matters.
The ASA and the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) are responsible for setting and enforcing the UK Advertising Codes and are independent of the government. The ASA’s rulings on breaches of loot box advertising code requirements are available at https://www.asa.org.uk/codes-and-rulings/rulings.html
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in addition to the £10.5 million of funding made available to Eurostar, Eurotunnel and Port of Dover for the introduction of the EU Entry-Exit System, what other projects and funding they have planned that can be expedited immediately to ease the potential disruption, not least to the Kent road network.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
DfT and Home Office have allocated £9m and £1.5m respectively to help enable the implementation of EES at Eurostar, Eurotunnel, and Port of Dover in a manner which minimises the risk of disruption. In addition, the Government is working closely with the relevant operators, the French and the European Commission to ensure implementation is optimised.
DfT continues to review contingency planning and traffic management in Kent in response to the additional risks to border throughput which EES poses, with additional contingency measures being planned in conjunction with Kent and Medway Resilience Forum to manage impacts to drivers and local communities in the event of any disruption.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 12 August (HL502), whether they have set a date for the Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme roll out to EU nationals; and whether they have informed port operators about this timetable.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
No date has yet been set for the further rollout of the Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme, including to European nationals. We expect to make an announcement very shortly and will work with ports and carriers on coordinated communications to those affected.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following further breaches of the Advertising Standards Authority codes on publicising the availability of loot boxes by members of the DCMS technical working group on loot boxes, what steps they will take to ensure that the codes and their oversight are strengthened.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) are responsible for setting and enforcing the UK Advertising Codes and are independent of the government.
The ASA takes firm action to ban adverts for loot boxes that are in breach of their codes and has published comprehensive guidance for advertisers of in-game purchasing. The ASA is assessing the nature and scale of ads that fail to inform the audience of in-game purchasing, and considering further action through individual investigations or enforcement activity conducted by CAP Compliance teams.
We are committed to ensuring that purchases of loot boxes should not be available to children and young people unless and until they are enabled by a parent or guardian; and that all players should have access to and be aware of spending controls and transparent information to support safe and responsible gaming.
In July 2023, the previous Government agreed to new industry-led guidance produced by a DCMS-convened Technical Working Group (TWG) of video game developers ; a 12 month implementation period ended in July 2024. The TWG is preparing a report on industry implementation of the measures, which we urge all video games companies to adopt in full. We are separately commissioning independent academic research to assess the effectiveness of the new guidance in improving player protections and will consider whether further action is required when this research is complete.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when the electronic travel authorisation requirement will be introduced for (1) EU, EEA and Swiss citizens, and (2) citizens of the rest of the world.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office has engaged regularly with the European Union, the Government of France, Eurostar, Eurotunnel and the Port of Dover about the introduction of both the European Union (EU) Entry/Exit System (EES) and the UK’s Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA).
We currently expect the EU to implement EES in November. Further details will be announced shortly about the remainder of the ETA roll out, including when the scheme will apply to EU nationals. We are working with ports and carriers on coordinated communications to the travelling public.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Lord Hanson of Flint on 29 July (HLWS29), what discussions they have had with the EU and the government of France about the rollout of the electronic travel authorisation requirement for EU citizens; and what steps they are taking to prepare the public for upcoming changes to travel rules between the UK and the Schengen Area.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office has engaged regularly with the European Union, the Government of France, Eurostar, Eurotunnel and the Port of Dover about the introduction of both the European Union (EU) Entry/Exit System (EES) and the UK’s Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA).
We currently expect the EU to implement EES in November. Further details will be announced shortly about the remainder of the ETA roll out, including when the scheme will apply to EU nationals. We are working with ports and carriers on coordinated communications to the travelling public.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Eurostar and the operators of Eurotunnel and the Port of Dover about the timing of the expected introduction of the EU’s entry/exit system and the rollout of the UK’s electronic travel authorisation for EU citizens.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office has engaged regularly with the European Union, the Government of France, Eurostar, Eurotunnel and the Port of Dover about the introduction of both the European Union (EU) Entry/Exit System (EES) and the UK’s Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA).
We currently expect the EU to implement EES in November. Further details will be announced shortly about the remainder of the ETA roll out, including when the scheme will apply to EU nationals. We are working with ports and carriers on coordinated communications to the travelling public.