Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the energy being using to mine cryptocurrency will be discussed at COP26; and whether further regulation on that matter will be on the COP26 agenda.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government’s private finance objective for the upcoming COP26 climate change forum is to ensure that every professional financial decision takes climate change into account. The recovery from COVID-19 will determine the mitigation and adaptation pathways for decades to come.
The finance campaign will provide the conditions for a future that is genuinely greener, more resilient and more sustainable than the past. Action on finance underpins all the other COP campaigns: adaptation & resilience, energy transition, nature and zero-emission vehicles. Without the right levels of finance, the rest is not possible.
The Government has already taken actions to signal a commitment to green technology, including a pledge to make Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) aligned financial disclosures mandatory across the economy by 2025, making the UK the first G20 nation to make such a commitment.
Additionally, the Government has committed to the implementation of a green taxonomy. This will allow us to accelerate our work towards a greener financial sector, by providing a common definition for environmentally sustainable economy activities
The Cryptoasset Taskforce, comprising HM Treasury, the Financial Conduct Authority , and the Bank of England, considers the impact of cryptoassets and assesses what, if any, regulation is required in response. The Government stands ready to respond to emerging risks or changes in the market and will continue to monitor developments in cryptoassets.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many complaints have been received through the FCA Complaints System; and how many complaints in relation to the conduct of the FCA Supervision team have been recorded in the last five calendar years.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Information relating to the number of complaints received by the FCA was published in the FCA’s response to the Complaints Commissioner’s Annual Report in July 2020. This information is available on the FCA’s website.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will introduce an interim threshold in the VAT rules on digital supplies for micro-businesses.
Answered by Jane Ellison
While we remain in the EU our rights and obligations as a Member State apply and as such we cannot introduce laws that conflict with existing EU law.
The UK government has pushed for change and the European Commission has confirmed proposals expected by the end of this year will include a VAT threshold in order to help small start-up e-commerce businesses.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which economists advised the Government on the short-term economic effects of the UK voting to leave the EU; and which of those economists forecast that there would be a reduction in UK GDP in any quarter of 2016.
Answered by David Gauke
HM Treasury’s published analysis of the immediate economic impact of a vote to leave the EU benefitted from a review by Professor Sir
Charles Bean, former Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, acting in a personal capacity as an academic consultant to HM Treasury. However, all contents and conclusions from the analysis are the responsibility of HM Treasury.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of economic growth generated as a direct result of immigration in the last five years; and what estimate he has made of the effect of immigration on the rate of economic growth in the next five years.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
Analysis undertaken by the independent Migration Advisory Committee in 2012 shows that higher levels of net migration will, all else equal, increase the growth rate of the potential labour supply and therefore the rate of growth of overall GDP.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the number of child benefit claims made for children living in each other EU member state in each of the last 10 years; and what the estimated cost to the public was of such claims.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Around 7m people are receiving Child Benefit. To extract and collate the value of all payments made to EU migrants for children living outside the UK in the format requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Information relating to the number of Child Benefit claims paid to families with children living overseas is available in the Government publication , “The best of both worlds: the United Kingdom's special status in a reformed European Union”. This publication is available on Gov.uk
The Government’s new settlement between the UK and the EU means that EU nationals whose children live abroad will ultimately receive Child Benefit at a rate that reflects the conditions – including the standard of living and child benefit paid – of the country where their child lives. This will restore fairness to the system.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on (a) English airports and (b) aviation connectivity of the devolution of Air Passenger Duty.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Any potential effects of Air Passenger Duty (APD) devolution are contingent on the extent of devolution in the UK and subsequent decisions made by devolved administrations and central government.
The Government is delivering the Smith Agreement by devolving APD to the Scottish Parliament. It is also considering the case and options for devolving APD to Wales, informed by a review of options to support English regional airports from potential impacts caused by its devolution.
As part of this review, HM Treasury published a discussion paper at Summer Budget 2015 exploring a number of options. We are carefully considering the evidence received from stakeholders and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many notices or demands for payment were posted to companies and individuals by HM Revenue and Customs for amounts less than £1 in each financial year since 2012-13.
Answered by David Gauke
The number of notices or demands for payment for amounts less than £1 could only be provided at a disproportionate cost. HM Revenue and Customs does not automatically collect the data on how many notices or demands for payments are issued for amounts less than £1.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans his Department has to publish the results of the economic modelling of the effect of a 50 per cent reduction in air passenger duty in Scotland on the aviation and travel industry in the rest of the UK with its review and discussion paper on that issue; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
In 2012, HMRC published analysis on the effect that differential prices at UK airports could have on overall demand for aviation and passengers' choice of airport. This included an analysis of the impact of price reductions equivalent to 50% of the value of APD in Scotland. The analysis can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/modelling-the-effects-of-price-differentials-at-uk-airports
In response to the concerns voiced by airports about the potential impacts of devolution, the government published a discussion paper at Summer Budget 2015. The paper explores the options for supporting regional airports from such impacts. The paper can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/discussion-paper-on-options-for-supporting-english-regional-airports-from-the-impacts-of-air-passenger-duty-devolution
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to ensure that consumers are given the choice to receive bills, statements and other important information on paper from their financial service providers without charge.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The Government takes the firm view that consumers must be able to easily access clear and transparent information about their accounts with banks and other financial service companies.
The Government is continuing to drive forward a wide-reaching and ambitious programme of reforms to open up competition in the banking sector, including enabling innovation in the use of bank data so that customers are able to use online information more effectively. This includes initiatives like the Midata current account tool, which will help customers switch to the best current account for them.
The Financial Conduct Authority is also currently reviewing cost-cutting initiatives that affect a significant number of customers, including the withdrawal of paper statements.