Non-domicile Status

Lord Watts Excerpts

Tuesday 28th January 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I am slightly confused about what underlies the noble Lord’s question, given that, as I say, the previous Government introduced this party’s policy on this issue. The OBR had migration assumptions associated with that policy, as it does with this one. The OBR has factored in the potential behavioural response of affected non-domiciled individuals into its costings. It accounts for an assumed level of migration from this group, just as it did for the previous Government’s groups. So, as I understand it, the migration assumptions for the previous Government’s reforms were 10% and, for this Government’s reforms, they are 12%.

[Lord Watts (Lab)]

Does the Minister find it strange—

[Noble Lords]

Not again!

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Watts (Lab)]

Yes, noble Lords are going to get it. Does the Minister find it strange that members of the party opposite seem to be very worried about non-doms, when the last Government introduced taxes that hit ordinary working families and they did not utter a word of criticism about that?

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I am grateful to my noble friend for his question. I find quite a lot strange about the attitude of the party opposite, not least what he says—the fact that it introduced £30 billion-worth of taxes on working people in the last Parliament, and yet it does not seem to think there is anything wrong with that and still has not apologised.

EU Law

Lord Watts Excerpts

Tuesday 28th January 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Gustafsson (Lab)]

The Government’s priorities are around driving economic growth within the UK, and I firmly believe that regulation has an important role to make sure that that growth is not short-term but long-term and sustainable. We have many trading opportunities within Europe, which is one of our largest trading partners, and there is an opportunity to make sure that we work to remove any barriers that get in the way of supporting that trade while making sure that we still support our own ambitions within the UK to drive that sustainable economic growth.

[Lord Watts (Lab)]

My Lords, I congratulate the Government on trying to reset the relationship between ourselves and Europe that was ruined by the previous Government. Can I urge the Minister to put growth and our trade relationship at the forefront of our policy and to take no notice of those people who live in the past and have no idea how to attain the growth that we need?

[Baroness Gustafsson (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend for that question. We completely agree that economic growth within the UK is our number one priority. A great way to achieve that is by freshening the relationships we have with our key trading partners both within Europe and beyond.

Competition and Markets Authority Chairman

Lord Watts Excerpts

Monday 27th January 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Gustafsson (Lab)]

I do not think this is about short-term growth. This Government are committed to prioritising long-term sustainable growth, and I think that goal unifies us all. The regulators have a part to play in that, which is making sure that they are reviewing the regulations through the lens of growth and understanding whether they are still fit for purpose. This is not about tearing down regulation for regulation’s sake; it is about viewing it through the lens of our goal as a Government and making sure it is aligned to that.

[Lord Watts (Lab)]

My Lords, many of us think it is about time that we had accountability for regulators. The regulators appointed by the previous Government failed to protect the public or boost the economy. Do we not need proper regulation to be applied and to make sure that the regulators are on the side of the public?

[Baroness Gustafsson (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend for that question. He is right; regulation and growth need not be mutually exclusive. This is about creating sustainable long-term growth that protects not only consumers but businesses, so that they have a fair, competitive and open ground on which to compete.

Exports to the European Union

Lord Watts Excerpts

Wednesday 20th November 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

As the noble Lord knows, we have acceded to that partnership already. At the G20 this week, the Prime Minister spoke about reopening negotiations with India. In the spring, the Government will publish a trade strategy, in part to reset our relationship with the EU, but also to support more small businesses to export and remove barriers to trade right around the world.

[Lord Watts (Lab)]

My Lords, the last Government wrecked the economy and our relationship with our biggest trading partner, all on the back of the idea that there were loads of trade deals out there to be done. They failed to do them, and those that they did damaged the farming industry in the UK.

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I agree with some of my noble friend’s sentiment; I am not entirely sure what the question is. However, it is important to recognise the significance of the EU to our trade. Four of our top five export markets are in the EU, and eight out of the top 10. The EU accounts for nearly 50% of our trade; total trade with EU is worth over £800 billion and 41% of total exports go to the EU.

United Kingdom Declining Birth Rate

Lord Watts Excerpts

Wednesday 6th November 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

We have to ensure that changing technology works to the benefit of all in society and contributes to our key objective of economic growth.

[Lord Watts (Lab)]

My Lords, it appears that the major problem is the number of older people now living longer. It is not a problem for them or for us but it has economic implications. Is it not the case that it takes two working people in each household to pay tax to keep one pensioner at home? What are we going to do to bridge the gap between the number of people working and the number who are not?

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

Clearly, we have an ageing society and there are associated costs with that. That is why increasing the levels of economic growth in our country is so important, so that we have the resources to fund the priorities that matter to us.

European Investment Bank

Lord Watts Excerpts

Wednesday 24th July 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

The noble Baroness is correct that there are continuing projects in the UK that were financed by the EIB prior to leaving the EU and which it continues to support. I agree with her that there is merit in improving our relationship with the European Union. We have not yet set any plans on working with the European Investment Bank, but I will absolutely consider the point she makes.

[Lord Watts (Lab)]

When we left the European Union we were told that there were loads of trade deals to be done around the world. The previous Government sent people to every quarter of the world to try to do trade deals and failed. Will the Minister redirect his staff into doing something positive rather than waste our time?

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I do not think it is a question of either/or. Clearly we need to do more to reset our trade relationships right around the world. We want strong multilateral partnerships with new countries and to reset our relationship with the strongest and closest partners that we have in the European Union. We should work hard to develop stronger trade relationships right across the board.

HMRC Self-assessment Helpline

Lord Watts Excerpts

Tuesday 26th March 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

The helplines that would have closed relate to VAT and PAYE and self-assessment. HMRC is putting in various digital solutions to ensure that people can access A1 forms as quickly as possible and, as with all other forms of tax, accessing online is quicker, can be more convenient and certainly offers the best value for money for the taxpayer.

[Lord Watts (Lab)]

My Lords, is it not the case that the people who carried out this assessment are the same people who have been failing the public for many years? Who carried that assessment out? Does the Minister understand that many people who try to contact the tax office do so after they have failed to get through or get any answers from the online service?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

I accept that that can be the case. There is a digital assistant in the first instance, which is like a chatbot which can help with very simple inquiries; then it goes on to web chat; and then if the person on the other end of the web chat says that they cannot help, of course one is then able to phone HMRC. HMRC monitors all its channels for levels of confidence, levels of access, emotional state, mental health capability, comprehension and disability, and those people are referred to the extra support service team.

Electronic Payment Devices

Lord Watts Excerpts

Tuesday 19th March 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

Regulations that were introduced at any particular point in time have become out of date very quickly. Underpinning the work we are doing is the Equality Act 2010. The whole point about having an independent regulator in the FCA is that its rules can change quickly. The FCA issues guidance which sets out how financial services organisations need to ensure that people with disabilities, who may be more vulnerable, get the support they need. That is better than regulation: having the FCA as an independent regulator is more agile than having straight government regulation.

[Lord Watts (Lab)]

My Lords, the Government’s regulators fail to protect the public. Virtually every regulator is failing to do its duty, while the Government stand by and do nothing. We need a regulator for the regulators.

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

My Lords, I am not entirely sure that I am here to speak for all regulators. However, the consumer duty was introduced, whereby the FCA must ensure that the financial services sector is delivering good outcomes to prevent harm. That was introduced only in July 2023 and will take a little while to bed in. We will monitor the outcomes of that consumer duty to ensure that it is having the impact on disabled and other vulnerable customers that we need to see.

Overseas Territories: Tax Haven Status

Lord Watts Excerpts

Monday 26th February 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

I absolutely agree that we need to support the overseas territories. We have the skills, capacity and capability to do that, and that is what we do—but recognising that the relationship with each of them can be very different. They have elected Governments of their own. Those Governments are responsible for their domestic affairs. The noble Lord mentioned timeframes of five years. The British Virgin Islands, which I admit is probably towards the end of introducing the beneficial ownership registers, is looking at putting a framework in place no later than quarter 2 of 2025.

[Lord Watts (Lab)]

My Lords, can the Minister explain why, at a time when British people are paying more tax than they ever have done, the richest people in the world and in this country are avoiding tax altogether—people such as the part-owner of Manchester United, who now apparently wants the taxpayer to give him billions of pounds to invest in his business? Where is the fairness in that?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

Obviously, I cannot comment on any individual’s tax affairs, but it is the case that overseas territories are non-sovereign jurisdictions. They have a unique relationship as part of the British family, but they set out their own tax legislation within their own legal structures and it is certainly not for the UK Government or Parliament to drive a coach and horses through that.

Buy Now, Pay Later: Regulation

Lord Watts Excerpts

Wednesday 7th February 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

I do not always. There seems to be a “computer says no” attitude to newfangled things. I absolutely reject that. While noble Lords may or may not use buy now, pay later, I know many young people who do, and they do so very successfully. I would not want to overregulate a product or get it wrong, thereby causing that product to be removed from the market.

[Lord Watts (Lab)]

The Minister says that there needs to be regulation, that the Government have gone out for consultation and that they are now considering it. To ask the same question I ask of Ministers all the time: where is the timeline for that? When will the Government act rather than talk?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

We will act by publishing the results of the consultation and our response to it in due course.