Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure all UK Overseas Territories approve laws allowing access to company ownership data to those with a legitimate interest, as they committed to do by April 2025.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
At the Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) in November 2024, the Falkland Islands and Saint Helena committed to implement fully public registers by April 2025. The British Virgin Islands (BVI), Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Anguilla and Turks and Caicos Islands agreed to implement registers of beneficial ownership, accessible to those with a legitimate interest, by June 2025. It remains our expectation that the Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies will ultimately implement fully public registers, such as those that are already in place in Gibraltar and Montserrat.
Every Territory is making progress towards these commitments and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials are in regular contact with counterparts in the Overseas Territories on their proposals for registers to ensure they meet the agreement made at JMC. The Cayman Islands has introduced an accessible beneficial ownership register. Officials are working together to ensure that this system offers the best possible level of transparency and accessibility.
The Minister of State, Stephen Doughty MP continues to raise this directly with elected leaders across the Overseas Territories including a recent conference call with all leaders and representatives - and has recently spoken to and written to the Premiers of a number of territories individually on this issue, and offered further assistance to the small number who remain off track from meeting their commitments.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what investment they have made or intend to make in thorium-based nuclear energy technology.
Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
There are currently no funded projects specifically for thorium-based nuclear technologies. Potential for future investment will be subject to the Spending Review and the scope of future R&D schemes.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to publish the trade agreement between the UK and India; and whether they plan to seek Parliament’s approval prior to ratification.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
A summary document of the trade agreement between the UK and India is already on the Gov.uk website. This Government plans to publish the full agreement when the deal is signed, which will then be subject to the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010. The Act provides Parliament with the opportunity to scrutinise new trade agreements that are subject to ratification and, if it wishes, to resolve against them.
Additionally, any changes to UK legislation will need to be scrutinised and passed by Parliament in the usual way.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of bank branch closures on small businesses.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government understands the importance of face-to-face banking to communities and businesses, and is committed to championing sufficient access for all as a priority.
That is why the Government is working closely with industry to roll out 350 banking hubs across the UK. The UK banking sector has committed to deliver these hubs by the end of this Parliament. Over 220 hubs have been announced so far, and over 150 are already open.
Cash Access UK, who oversee the rollout of banking hubs, reported from their research in Brixham (Devon) and Rochford (Essex), in October 2024 that spend on the high street is 71% higher amongst those who have visited the banking hub. Almost half (47%) of businesses surveyed said they have experienced an increase in footfall thanks to the banking hub.
In addition, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) guidance expects firms to carefully consider the impact of planned branch closures on their customers’ everyday banking and cash access needs and put in place alternatives where reasonable. This seeks to ensure that branch closures are implemented in a way that treats customers, including business customers, fairly. Where firms fall short of expectations, the FCA may ask for closures to be paused or other options to be put in place.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of the impact assessment of the Spring Statement's announcement of health and disability benefit reforms, which estimates an additional 250,000 people will be in relative poverty after housing costs in 2029–30, what assessment they have made of the likely increase in homelessness.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No assessment has been made. The figure quoted does not take account of additional employment arising from the enhancements to employment support announced in the Green Paper, about which the Office for Budget Responsibility has announced that it will produce an impact assessment in the autumn. It also does not take account of any measures to be announced in the forthcoming Child Poverty strategy.
Further information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, in addition to the information published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found in ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’(opens in a new tab).
A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they intend to take following the emergence of a video appearing to show throat-slit gestures made by an individual at the Pakistan High Commission in London.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Should a protest contravene the law and criminality take place on a protest, the police have the powers to respond. The use of these powers and the management of demonstrations are an operational matter for the police. We are aware of reports of a video being circulated on social media and understand that the Metropolitan Police is investigating. It would not be appropriate to offer further comment at this stage.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have held discussions with the Financial Reporting Council to ensure that the Post Office auditors complied with section 498(1)(a) of the Companies Act 2006.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Regulation of auditors is the responsibility of the Financial Reporting Council. The Financial Reporting Council announced on 16 April that it had commenced an investigation into the statutory audits of Post Office Limited for the financial years ending 2015 to 2018, with particular reference to matters related to the Horizon IT system.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the additional tax revenues that would be raised if the tax-free allowance for dividends was abolished.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC publishes estimates of the direct effects of illustrative tax changes, including changes to the dividend allowance, which are available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/direct-effects-of-illustrative-tax-changes
The additional revenue gained from abolishing the dividend allowance may not be completely scalable to the published ready reckoner because the distribution of dividend income may not be uniform and therefore scalable. Furthermore, the assumed behavioural responses may not be scalable either.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what additional tax revenues would be raised by abolishing the allowance for Capital Gains Tax.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
To produce an estimate for the tax revenues raised from the abolition of the Annual Exempt Amount (AEA) on Capital Gains Tax (CGT) would require a disproportionate cost.
Estimates for the tax relief afforded by the AEA can be found in HMRC’s structural tax relief publication [1] . Please note that these estimates do not represent the gain to the Exchequer should the relief be abolished as they do not explicitly model additional behavioural responses or wider economic impacts that could result from changes to the relief. The latest published estimates also reflect the AEA being £12,300 for individuals in 2022/23, compared to the current AEA of £3,000.
You may also be interested in HMRC’s direct effects of illustrative tax changes publication [2] which includes estimates for an illustrative change to the AEA. Please note that these estimates are non-linear and asymmetrical. For example, doubling or halving the AEA estimates will not accurately predict the change in revenue for a proportionate change in the AEA.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/minor-tax-expenditures-and-structural-reliefs/structural-tax-relief-statistics-december-2024
[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/direct-effects-of-illustrative-tax-changes/direct-effects-of-illustrative-tax-changes-bulletin-january-2025
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will suspend aid to Pakistan following terrorist attacks in India on 22 April.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK condemns terrorism in all forms and our thoughts are with those affected by the Pahalgam terror attack, their loved ones and the people of India. Until all the facts are established, we must not speculate on the nature of the attack. The UK has transitioned from a traditional aid relationship with Pakistan to a mutually beneficial partnership which underpins UK national interests, including in keeping us safe from irregular migration, terror threats and organised crime. Some of the technical assistance we provide through UK Official Development Assistance is integral to these efforts.