"My Lords, if we are to change the number of border officers, will the Minister consider changing the passenger survey method of counting immigration, which currently asks 0.6% of people arriving in this country whether they are tourists or immigrants? The answers are not verified, and the statistics produced do …..." Lord Leigh of Hurley - View Speech
"To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that operators of online marketplaces take all reasonable steps to mitigate VAT evasion...." Lord Leigh of Hurley - View Speech
"This issue is of course important to UK high street retailers which are facing intense competition from Amazon. Does my noble friend the Minister share my concern that HMRC estimates that the loss of VAT through evasion by foreign online supply companies is between £600 million and £900 million? However, …..." Lord Leigh of Hurley - View Speech
"My Lords, it is estimated that the number of Palestinian refugees who are alive today who were displaced in 1948 is around 30,000. However, unique to any refugee situation in the world, the United Nations now defines their descendants as refugees, so the total is over 5 million. Does the …..." Lord Leigh of Hurley - View Speech
"I remind the House that this is not the first time that large charities have brought the sector into disrepute. It was only a short time ago, your Lordships will recall, that Olive Cooke threw herself off a bridge in Bristol because she was being pursued by large charities. At …..." Lord Leigh of Hurley - View Speech
"My Lords, this year I served on the Finance Bill Sub-Committee of the Select Committee on Economic Affairs. I congratulate the noble Lords, Lord Turnbull and Lord Hollick, and my colleagues on the committee on, and thank the special advisers who helped us so ably for, the report’s publication. I …..." Lord Leigh of Hurley - View Speech
"I thank the noble Lord. That does not seem very far along the road of tax simplification. Businesses will have all sorts of challenges when MTD hits them. I hope the Government will listen to the Office of Tax Simplification, which, in its submissions to us, was clear that its …..." Lord Leigh of Hurley - View Speech
"My Lords, the European Investment Fund supplies finance to the venture capital and seed capital industry. London is widely recognised as a centre of excellence for venture capital and seed capital, but the EIF has suspended finance to a number of venture capitalists based in London. Will the Minister write …..." Lord Leigh of Hurley - View Speech
"To ask Her Majesty's Government whether it is their policy to reduce unnecessary regulation of financial services; and if so, whether they intend to review current Financial Conduct Authority practices to ascertain whether that regulator is going beyond what is appropriate and necessary to fulfil that policy...." Lord Leigh of Hurley - View Speech