Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with (1) the crypto and digital asset industry, and (2) the UK banking industry, regarding access to UK bank accounts for crypto and digital asset business.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The government takes the issue of bank account access very seriously, and that is why the Chancellor asked the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to help us collect evidence to understand where account closures or refusals are happening and why.
The FCA’s interim report (“UK Payment Accounts: Access and Closures”) set out areas for further consideration by government in relation to business accounts and we are continuing to explore this issue.
HM Treasury acknowledges concerns regarding how banks’ decisions affect access to accounts and consumer payments to cryptoasset firms. However, it would not be appropriate for the government to intervene in commercial decisions taken by banks.
The government is committed to supporting safe innovation within our financial technology sector; HM Treasury regularly engages with a range of stakeholders in the cryptoasset sector and is also progressing work on legislation to implement its proposals for the future financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets, which will bring a number of cryptoasset activities into the regulatory perimeter for financial services for the first time.
Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of decisions by some banks to introduce limits or restrictions on cryptocurrency transactions.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The government takes the issue of bank account access very seriously, and that is why the Chancellor asked the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to help us collect evidence to understand where account closures or refusals are happening and why.
The FCA’s interim report (“UK Payment Accounts: Access and Closures”) set out areas for further consideration by government in relation to business accounts and we are continuing to explore this issue.
HM Treasury acknowledges concerns regarding how banks’ decisions affect access to accounts and consumer payments to cryptoasset firms. However, it would not be appropriate for the government to intervene in commercial decisions taken by banks.
The government is committed to supporting safe innovation within our financial technology sector; HM Treasury regularly engages with a range of stakeholders in the cryptoasset sector and is also progressing work on legislation to implement its proposals for the future financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets, which will bring a number of cryptoasset activities into the regulatory perimeter for financial services for the first time.
Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to issuing guidance to UK banks in relation to providing access to bank accounts for crypto and digital asset businesses.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The government takes the issue of bank account access very seriously, and that is why the Chancellor asked the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to help us collect evidence to understand where account closures or refusals are happening and why.
The FCA’s interim report (“UK Payment Accounts: Access and Closures”) set out areas for further consideration by government in relation to business accounts and we are continuing to explore this issue.
HM Treasury acknowledges concerns regarding how banks’ decisions affect access to accounts and consumer payments to cryptoasset firms. However, it would not be appropriate for the government to intervene in commercial decisions taken by banks.
The government is committed to supporting safe innovation within our financial technology sector; HM Treasury regularly engages with a range of stakeholders in the cryptoasset sector and is also progressing work on legislation to implement its proposals for the future financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets, which will bring a number of cryptoasset activities into the regulatory perimeter for financial services for the first time.
Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have plans to bring forward regulation to ensure that crypto and digital asset businesses can open a UK bank account.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The government takes the issue of bank account access very seriously, and that is why the Chancellor asked the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to help us collect evidence to understand where account closures or refusals are happening and why.
The FCA’s interim report (“UK Payment Accounts: Access and Closures”) set out areas for further consideration by government in relation to business accounts and we are continuing to explore this issue.
HM Treasury acknowledges concerns regarding how banks’ decisions affect access to accounts and consumer payments to cryptoasset firms. However, it would not be appropriate for the government to intervene in commercial decisions taken by banks.
The government is committed to supporting safe innovation within our financial technology sector; HM Treasury regularly engages with a range of stakeholders in the cryptoasset sector and is also progressing work on legislation to implement its proposals for the future financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets, which will bring a number of cryptoasset activities into the regulatory perimeter for financial services for the first time.
Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that many UK crypto and digital asset businesses are unable to open a UK bank account.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The government takes the issue of bank account access very seriously, and that is why the Chancellor asked the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to help us collect evidence to understand where account closures or refusals are happening and why.
The FCA’s interim report (“UK Payment Accounts: Access and Closures”) set out areas for further consideration by government in relation to business accounts and we are continuing to explore this issue.
HM Treasury acknowledges concerns regarding how banks’ decisions affect access to accounts and consumer payments to cryptoasset firms. However, it would not be appropriate for the government to intervene in commercial decisions taken by banks.
The government is committed to supporting safe innovation within our financial technology sector; HM Treasury regularly engages with a range of stakeholders in the cryptoasset sector and is also progressing work on legislation to implement its proposals for the future financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets, which will bring a number of cryptoasset activities into the regulatory perimeter for financial services for the first time.
Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their justification for the further extension to the contract for Avanti West Coast, given its service record over the last six months.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Avanti West Coast (AWC) introduced a new timetable in December which amounted to an approximate 40 per cent increase in services. The first month did not see an improvement for passengers given the period of prolonged industrial action. Since then, AWC has demonstrated improvement in performance justifying an extension to October 2023, with cancellation rates falling to an average of 4.2 per cent in early March. AWC needs to do more to win back passengers with a reliable and dependable service.
Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many mine-resistant vehicles procured for operations in Afghanistan remain in storage; which vehicle types they are; and what consideration they have given to supplying such vehicles to the government of Ukraine.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
Mastiff, Ridgback, Wolfhound (MRW), High Mobility Tactical Vehicle (Jackal, Coyote), Foxhound and Husky are all protected mobility platforms procured for operations in Afghanistan.
Husky is no longer an in-service platform and is held entirely within the disposals fleet. I am withholding the numbers of the remaining in-service platforms held in storage as disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness, or security of the Armed Forces.
Granting in Kind activity has considered each of the above platforms in detail, with Mastiff, Wolfhound and Husky forming significant elements of the UK's first two tranches of support to Ukraine.
Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many of the 227 Challenger tanks originally procured for the army (1) remain in service, and (2) are currently serviceable.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
408 Challenger 2 Main Battle Tanks were originally procured for the Army in the 1990s. 227 platforms remain in the Army's current active fleet.
Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to upgrade the Royal Air Force Typhoon aircraft; and what are the numbers per annum for the type leaving service in future.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
Withdrawing the Tranche 1 Typhoon aircraft enables the reinvestment required in the rest of the Typhoon fleet out to its out of service date. There are 30 Typhoon in Tranche 1. On current plans, the bulk of the Typhoon Tranche 1 aircraft will go out of service on 31 March 2025, whilst four will be retained until 2027.
Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to upgrade the Royal Air Force Typhoon aircraft; and how many of those aircraft left service in each of the past five years.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
In July 2022, the Ministry of Defence announced a further £2.35 billion investment in Typhoon, including fitting an electronically scanned radar, the European Common Radar System (ECRS) Mk2, as well as other improvements under the Phase 4 Enhancement aircraft upgrade package.
On current planning the bulk of the Typhoon Tranche 1 aircraft will go out of service on 31 March 2025, whilst four will be retained until 2027. As the Tranche 1 fleet draws down, aircraft will undergo a Reduce To Produce programme to strip them of useable parts after which they will be sent for disposal action.
The retirement of Typhoon Tranche 1 will enable further investment in Typhoon Tranche 2 and 3.