Asked by: Lord Wills (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Stamp Duty returns to determine the number of house purchases in the last five recorded years by (1) first-time buyers, (2) home owners who are not first-time buyers, and (3) landlords, second home owners and other investors in residential property.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
HMRC publishes quarterly and annual Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) statistics. Between 2016-17 and 2020-21 there were 5,284,000 residential SDLT transactions. The full report can be found on the gov.uk website.
Of these, 4,779,000 were transactions by individuals.
The SDLT relief for first time buyers was introduced in 2017. Since introduction, 576,900 transactions have claimed this relief. The full report can be found on the gov.uk website.
This figure does not accurately represent the number of first-time buyers because the temporary SDLT holiday, which ran from July 2020 until September 2021, meant that it was not necessary for first time buyers to claim this relief. In addition, first time buyers who purchase a property above £500,000 or below £125,000 are unable to claim the relief and will not be reflected in these statistics.
The Higher Rates for Additional Dwellings SDLT Surcharge (HRAD) was introduced in 2016 and applies to transactions where the purchaser already owns property. Between 2016-17 and 2020-21, 1,127,500 transactions were liable to HRAD. This figure includes transactions that would subsequently sell their previous main residence and receive a refund of the surcharge paid. 115,400 transactions were refunded between 2016-17 and 2020-21.
Asked by: Lord Wills (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to promote consumer confidence in buying online; and what assessment they have made of the performance of delivery companies in this regard.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Through the Consumer Right Act 2015 and other legislation, the Government ensures that consumers have specified rights when shopping online. Furthermore, the Government has consulted on measures to boost these online rights further, including proposals to prevent consumers being misled by fake reviews and preventing online exploitation of consumer behaviour. The consultation is now closed and the Government response will be published in due course.
Ofcom is the UK’s independent regulator of postal services. It monitors competition and consumer protection in the sector. Ofcom is currently conducting a review of postal regulation so that it remains relevant and fit for purpose in the light of market changes. It intends to publish a consultation later this year before concluding the review next year.
Asked by: Lord Wills (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the importance of home parcel deliveries during the last 18 months to the health and well-being of the UK; what conclusions, if any, they have drawn from any such assessment; and what plans they have to further regulate home parcel deliveries to protect the public interest.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government remains committed to ensuring the universal postal service, through the universal service obligation, remains affordable and accessible to all users.
Ofcom, as the UK’s designated independent regulator of postal services, is carrying out a review of the future regulatory framework for post which it aims to complete in 2022. As part of this review, Ofcom is considering whether extra consumer protections may be required and has sought views on the future regulation of the parcel delivery market. A Call for Inputs was launched on 11 March 2021 and closed on 20 May 2021. Ofcom intends to publish a full consultation on the future regulation of postal services later this year.
Asked by: Lord Wills (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the impact since March of the under-utilisation of capacity in hospitals operated by the Independent Healthcare Providers Network under their partnership agreement with the NHS on (1) postponed (a) diagnoses, and (b) treatment, and (2) costs to taxpayers.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The National Health Service is working in partnership with private hospitals in the United Kingdom to combat the outbreak of COVID-19. The Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement have worked with the Independent Healthcare Providers Network and with independent sector providers themselves to secure all appropriate inpatient capacity and other resource across England.
The addition of around 6,500 additional beds has increased NHS capacity and ensured that facilities are available for patients diagnosed with COVID-19 whilst ensuring continuity of service for non-COVID-19 patients requiring elective activity, including cancer and other urgent treatment.
It is not possible to make an assessment of the impact since March of any underutilisation of independent sector capacity on postponed diagnoses or treatment.
Asked by: Lord Wills (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any misuse of Interpol procedures for political purposes by member countries.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Interpol is a crucial organisation for the UK enabling police to police cooperation between 194 member countries.
Any misuse of Interpol is taken very seriously by the government. The Home Office continues to work with Interpol and the National Crime Agency (NCA), which acts as the UK’s National Central Bureau for Interpol, on this matter and strongly supports Interpol’s efforts to ensure systems are in place that protect individuals’ human rights.
Article 3 of Interpol’s Constitution forbids the organisation from undertaking any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character.
Asked by: Lord Wills (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the misuse of Interpol procedures for political purposes on the exposure of wrongdoing.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Interpol is a crucial organisation for the UK enabling police to police cooperation between 194 member countries.
Any misuse of Interpol is taken very seriously by the government. The Home Office continues to work with Interpol and the National Crime Agency (NCA), which acts as the UK’s National Central Bureau for Interpol, on this matter and strongly supports Interpol’s efforts to ensure systems are in place that protect individuals’ human rights.
Article 3 of Interpol’s Constitution forbids the organisation from undertaking any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character.
Asked by: Lord Wills (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of member states who have sought to misuse Interpol procedures for political purposes.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Interpol is a crucial organisation for the UK enabling police to police cooperation between 194 member countries.
Any misuse of Interpol is taken very seriously by the government. The Home Office continues to work with Interpol and the National Crime Agency (NCA), which acts as the UK’s National Central Bureau for Interpol, on this matter and strongly supports Interpol’s efforts to ensure systems are in place that protect individuals’ human rights.
Article 3 of Interpol’s Constitution forbids the organisation from undertaking any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character.
Asked by: Lord Wills (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to Interpol for reforms that would prevent member states misusing Interpol procedures for political purposes.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Government views any allegation of misuse of Interpol’s systems very seriously and continues to work closely with Interpol to ensure the integrity of its systems. In November 2019, a senior UK lawyer was seconded to Interpol to support the work of its Notices and Diffusions Taskforce, a multidisciplinary unit which ensures legal compliance and prevents abuse of Interpol systems.
We continue to monitor the effectiveness of existing safeguards and will not hesitate to recommend further reforms to Interpol as necessary.
Interpol also has an independent review body, the Commission for the Control of Files (CFF), which seeks to ensure that the processing of personal information by Interpol is in compliance with Interpol’s regulations.
Asked by: Lord Wills (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to Interpol to seek sanctions for member states that misuse Interpol procedures for political purposes.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Government views any allegation of misuse of Interpol’s systems very seriously and continues to work closely with Interpol to ensure the integrity of its systems. In November 2019, a senior UK lawyer was seconded to Interpol to support the work of its Notices and Diffusions Taskforce, a multidisciplinary unit which ensures legal compliance and prevents abuse of Interpol systems.
We continue to monitor the effectiveness of existing safeguards and will not hesitate to recommend further reforms to Interpol as necessary.
Interpol also has an independent review body, the Commission for the Control of Files (CFF), which seeks to ensure that the processing of personal information by Interpol is in compliance with Interpol’s regulations.
Asked by: Lord Wills (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bethell on 7 October (HL8398), whether they will now answer the question put, namely, what estimate they have made of spare capacity between 1 April and 1 September in hospitals operated by the Independent Healthcare Providers Network under their partnership agreement with the NHS.
Answered by Lord Bethell
A national agreement is in place between NHS England and NHS Improvement in collaboration with the Independent Healthcare Providers Network and independent sector providers to ensure National Health Service patients benefit from an unprecedented partnership with private hospitals as we battle the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement have worked with the independent sector to secure all appropriate inpatient capacity and other resource across England.
To maximise total elective activity, NHS England and NHS Improvement worked with independent providers to identify best of use of capacity, based on local need. From the end of March to June 2020 both equipment and staffing from independent sector providers were deployed by NHS trusts in order to ensure delivery of services for NHS patients. Since June, the use of independent sector sites has been focused on assisting the NHS to restore services and increase elective capacity.
As part of preparing for winter, the Government has provided an additional £3 billion to the NHS. This includes additional funding to the NHS to allow them to continue to use additional hospital capacity from the independent sector, and to maintain the Nightingale hospitals, in their current state, until the end of March 2021.