Asked by: Lord Fox (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the US judgment on 5 August in the case of United States, et al. v. Google, LLC, (No. 20-cv-3010 (APM) (D.D.C. Aug. 5, 2024), Dkt. No. 1033) and in particular, what estimate they have made of the proportion of the $200 billion unlawful transactions identified in the judgment which pertains to UK trade; and what assessment they have made of the effect eliminating the unlawful practices identified in the judgment would have on (1) the UK’s gross domestic product, and (2) the UK’s tax revenue.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Competition and Markets Authority (the CMA) is independent to Government and is responsible for investigating competition issues in the UK. In July 2020, the CMA published the final report of its market study into online platforms and digital advertising. The report showed evidence of Google having significant market power in the general search and advertising markets. Since this report, the CMA has opened investigations into suspected anti-competitive conduct by Google in the ad-tech market and the use of its ‘privacy sandbox’ tools.
The Government is working with the CMA to implement the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers (DMCC) Act. Part 1 of the Act will equip the CMA with faster, more effective tools to address the causes and consequences of market power in digital markets. This includes ensuring a small number of the most powerful digital firms comply with tailored rules on how they treat consumers and other businesses. The CMA will also be able to address the causes of competition issues in digital markets, to promote more dynamic markets. These reforms are estimated to deliver £6.2bn in consumer benefits over 10 years. The DMCC Act will protect small businesses, save consumers money, boost innovation and drive growth.
Asked by: Lord Fox (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Under Secretary at the Department for Transport on 28 November 2023 (3453), what plans they have to grow and develop the supply chain for L-Category vehicles this year.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
The Government has ongoing engagement with the UK’s L-category industry and rider group representatives, particularly in support of its transition to zero emissions.
The Government welcomed the Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA) and Zemo Partnership’s joint action plan when published in February 2022 and has been supporting its delivery where appropriate.
In support of actions 2 and 3 the Government made up to £350,000 of funding available for research and development projects to develop and grow the zero emission motorcycle component and system supply chain in the UK.
In response to action 6, the Department is engaged with the MCIA’s recent licensing review proposals for all battery electric L-Category vehicles. The Department continues to work with the recently established “Powered Light Vehicle Community” to address action 9.
Asked by: Lord Fox (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Transport on 28 November 2023 (3453), what assessment they have made of their current role in the L-Category community.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
The Government has ongoing engagement with the UK’s L-category industry and rider group representatives, particularly in support of its transition to zero emissions.
The Government welcomed the Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA) and Zemo Partnership’s joint action plan when published in February 2022 and has been supporting its delivery where appropriate.
In support of actions 2 and 3 the Government made up to £350,000 of funding available for research and development projects to develop and grow the zero emission motorcycle component and system supply chain in the UK.
In response to action 6, the Department is engaged with the MCIA’s recent licensing review proposals for all battery electric L-Category vehicles. The Department continues to work with the recently established “Powered Light Vehicle Community” to address action 9.
Asked by: Lord Fox (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Under Secretary at the Department for Transport on 28 November 2023 (3453), how much they will invest in growing and developing the L-Category supply chain this year.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
The Government has ongoing engagement with the UK’s L-category industry and rider group representatives, particularly in support of its transition to zero emissions.
The Government welcomed the Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA) and Zemo Partnership’s joint action plan when published in February 2022 and has been supporting its delivery where appropriate.
In support of actions 2 and 3 the Government made up to £350,000 of funding available for research and development projects to develop and grow the zero emission motorcycle component and system supply chain in the UK.
In response to action 6, the Department is engaged with the MCIA’s recent licensing review proposals for all battery electric L-Category vehicles. The Department continues to work with the recently established “Powered Light Vehicle Community” to address action 9.
Asked by: Lord Fox (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Secretary of State at the Department for Transport on 28 November 2023 (3453), what support they plan to give the L-Category community this year.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
The Government has ongoing engagement with the UK’s L-category industry and rider group representatives, particularly in support of its transition to zero emissions.
The Government welcomed the Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA) and Zemo Partnership’s joint action plan when published in February 2022 and has been supporting its delivery where appropriate.
In support of actions 2 and 3 the Government made up to £350,000 of funding available for research and development projects to develop and grow the zero emission motorcycle component and system supply chain in the UK.
In response to action 6, the Department is engaged with the MCIA’s recent licensing review proposals for all battery electric L-Category vehicles. The Department continues to work with the recently established “Powered Light Vehicle Community” to address action 9.
Asked by: Lord Fox (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many settlements have been made as a result of the system set up by the Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Act 2022; and how many of those awards have had their details published.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Shadow Minister (Defence)
As of the end of August, 125 awards have been made in accordance with the Act. Their details are published on the arbitrators’ websites.
Arbitrators continue to work with parties to resolve the remaining cases.
Asked by: Lord Fox (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether it was their policy that tenants’ confidential commercial information used as evidence in arbitration could then be used in rent reviews or renewals under the terms of the Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Act 2022.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Confidential information disclosed as part of the arbitration proceedings should be used only for the purposes of the proceedings and the making of the arbitration award. However, there are exceptions to the general principles of confidentiality applying to arbitration, including where disclosure to a third party is reasonably necessary to protect legitimate interests, which could include disclosure reasonably necessary to establish or protect a party’s legal rights.
Asked by: Lord Fox (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether it was their policy that arbitrators direct tenants to divulge trading information to their commercial landlords, under the terms of the Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Act 2022.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Confidential information disclosed as part of the arbitration proceedings should be used only for the purposes of the proceedings and the making of the arbitration award. However, there are exceptions to the general principles of confidentiality applying to arbitration, including where disclosure to a third party is reasonably necessary to protect legitimate interests, which could include disclosure reasonably necessary to establish or protect a party’s legal rights.
Asked by: Lord Fox (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government what communication they have had with the Approved Arbitration bodies established as a result of the Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Act 2022.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy engaged with the arbitral bodies and with stakeholders to keep oversight of uptake of the scheme and to determine if initial stakeholder concerns about cost and capacity had any substance. We reminded parties in August of the closing deadlines for the submission of cases.
The deadline for the submission of cases recently passed on 23 September 2022 and arbitrators are in the process of considering the cases submitted and will be publishing the outcomes as required by the Act. The assessment of the impact of the Act is ongoing and will be published in due course.
Asked by: Lord Fox (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made as to whether the aim of the Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Act 2022 to “share in the impacts of pandemic” has been achieved; and what evidence they used to reach their conclusion.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy engaged with the arbitral bodies and with stakeholders to keep oversight of uptake of the scheme and to determine if initial stakeholder concerns about cost and capacity had any substance. We reminded parties in August of the closing deadlines for the submission of cases.
The deadline for the submission of cases recently passed on 23 September 2022 and arbitrators are in the process of considering the cases submitted and will be publishing the outcomes as required by the Act. The assessment of the impact of the Act is ongoing and will be published in due course.