Asked by: Baroness Prentis of Banbury (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Community Municipal Investment (CMI) green investment bonds, such as those offered by the London Boroughs of Greenwich, Southwark, Hounslow and Hammersmith and Fulham, are authorised by any regulator; and whether retail investors in such municipal bonds have any form of protection under the (1) Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme or (2) Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 establishes a framework whereby any person, whether an individual or firm, can only carry out a regulated activity by way of business if they are authorised by the appropriate regulator or are exempt from the authorisation requirement. Under this framework, the government determines which activities are regulated activities, by specifying them in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001 (RAO).
Where local authorities are the issuers of bonds, or borrowers under loans, they themselves would not require authorisation from a financial services regulator to act in that capacity, and would not be subject to regulation by the financial services regulators.
Financial services firms facilitating access to such funding by local authorities may, depending on the circumstances, be subject to regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority, and investors may be eligible to refer disputes with the regulated firm to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Depending on the precise circumstances of any products offered, compensation in the case of default may be available under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
Asked by: Baroness Prentis of Banbury (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to support families with the cost of living.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
The government is committed to helping families both earn more and keep more of what they earn. On 1st April 2018, the National Living Wage (NLW) increased by 4.4% to £7.83. This represents an annual pay rise of over £2,000 for a full-time worker since the NLW was introduced in April 2016. The Personal Allowance and Higher Rate Threshold also increased in line with CPI, to £11,850 and £46,350 respectively. These changes to income tax will help 31 million people and mean a typical basic rate taxpayer will pay £1,075 less income tax in 2018-19 then in 2010-11.