Asked by: Lord Radice (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the advice of the government of Sweden to its citizens to keep cash on hand against the possibility of a hacking attack on the banking system; and whether they are considering giving similar advice to UK citizens.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The Government has not provided similar advice to UK citizens. HM Treasury works closely with the other Financial Authorities, Intelligence Agencies and Law Enforcement to ensure that the system is robust to a wide range of operational risks, including cyber. The Financial Authorities have well-established mechanisms to respond to operational disruption were it to occur.
Asked by: Lord Radice (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have plans to provide any additional help to any regions that experience negative economic impacts due to Brexit.
Answered by Lord Bates
The government has committed to create a United Kingdom Shared Prosperity Fund following Brexit. The fund will support regions across the UK to achieve sustainable, inclusive growth, based on our modern industrial strategy. Further details on the fund will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Lord Radice (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the weight of a newly minted 10 pence piece; what is the weight after it has been in circulation for several years; and what assessment they have made of the acceptance of new 10 pence pieces by coin-operated machines.
Answered by Lord O'Neill of Gatley
Since the introduction of a smaller version in 1992, newly minted ten pence pieces have had a weight of 6.5 grammes. This remained the case from January 2012, when the composition was changed from a cupronickel alloy to nickel-plated steel. The weight of a ten pence piece does not change materially over the course of its lifecycle.
The Royal Mint works closely with a number of trade associations and manufacturers of coin operated equipment on an ongoing basis, and consulted with them when determining the precise specification of the nickel-plated steel ten pence piece. Whilst no formal assessment of acceptance has been made, members and operators are all routinely encouraged to upgrade their equipment.
Asked by: Lord Radice (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the level of indebtedness of (1) the government of Greece, and (2) Greek businesses, to the United Kingdom Government and United Kingdom businesses.
Answered by Lord O'Neill of Gatley
The government has secured a deal that protects UK taxpayers from any risk from financing euro area bailouts now and in the future. This deal gives legal force to the commitment secured in 2010 that UK taxpayers would not be drawn into a euro area bailout.
As the Chancellor has stated, private sector exposures to Greek banks and the Greek economy are far lower than they were in 2012.
Asked by: Lord Radice (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the United Kingdom economy of a default in its international obligations by the government of Greece, and of a Greek exit from the euro.
Answered by Lord O'Neill of Gatley
The government has secured a deal that protects UK taxpayers from any risk from financing euro area bailouts now and in the future. This deal gives legal force to the commitment secured in 2010 that UK taxpayers would not be drawn into a euro area bailout. Under the European Financial Stability Mechanism (EFSM) short term financing agreement concluded on Friday 17 July, Greece’s International Monetary Fund (IMF) arrears have also been cleared.
As the Chancellor has said, we should not underestimate the impact that a Greek exit from the euro area would have on the European economy – or the knock-on effects on the UK. But the economic plan we’ve pursued in Britain these last five years has increased our resilience – and we will take whatever further steps are needed to protect the UK from new risks to our economic security.